23 Shoes For Travel (Inc. Best Shoes For European Travel)

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Traveling can hinge on the right pair of shoes. After 25 years on the road, I’ve learned to pick the perfect travel companions for my feet. This guide is my roadmap to help you find the best travel shoes—stylish yet functional, comfortable yet not clunky.

Whether you’re looking for the ultimate shoes for Europe’s cobbled lanes or stylish kicks that don’t skimp on comfort, I’ve got you covered.

Ready to find out how to step up your travel shoe game without looking like a tourist? Let’s walk right into it.

Your flight is booked, your accommodation is sorted, and now comes the ultimate task for your next travel adventure – packing your bags. Yuck. In the past, I’d constantly second-guess what to pack. But now I have some experience and learned a few tricks of the trade.

I have written a few packing list guides, and in case you need those, you can find them at the end of the post.

But this guide is about how to pick the best travel shoes. Have you been asking yourself one of these questions?

• What are the best walking shoes for travel in Europe?
• Is there such a thing as fashionable walking shoes for travel?
• What are the most comfortable travel shoes?
• How much do good travel shoes cost?
• Will comfy travel shoes mean I look like a dork?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, keep reading, and let’s go step-by-step to get you up to speed.

Everyday Walking Shoes For Travel

Women’s walking shoes for travel are not as easy to disguise as men’s travel shoes. Those guys just wear a pair of running shoes, and they look cute; damn them. My most comfortable shoes for women are sneakers. I have arthritis and get terrible foot pain, so that’s my excuse to wear a running shoe and I stick to it.

Okay, enough tips already! Without further ado, the best travel shoes for women:

Best Shoes For Traveling In Europe

Don’t fret; Europe is different from Australia or America, and don’t let anyone tell you that we dress that much differently here. I promise.

Getting yourself any of these recommended best walking shoes is critical if you plan to walk the streets. Women always travel here in shoes that make my feet say “ouch”! You’re not going to the mall where the walking surface is smooth and flat. Europe has so many more cobblestone streets; you’ll be walking crooked paths up and downstairs to museums and churches and whatever else. Comfortable walking shoes for Greece, Germany, Croatia, and everywhere in between are a must!

On the other hand, you could also snag yourself a pair of stylin’ Italian walking shoes while in town! I sure would if my trip landed me in Florence.

For everyone else, though, your best purchase for women’s walking shoes for Europe are ones like these:

Brands We Use And Trust

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Best Walking Shoes For Travel

Finding, buying, and breaking in comfortable, stylish walking shoes for travel is essential when packing for your vacation. Think about it: are you ever happy when your feet hurt? No. Even when you are at home, it’s not fun, so why would it be when you are walking long distances everyday?

Comfortable feet are happy feet. Comfy shoes for walking are easy to find, but you need to look for a few things:

• Do you use orthopedics? If so, your best comfortable shoes for travel in Europe will need to accommodate your slip-in saviors. For years, I struggled to find comfortable yet half-decent-looking shoes that accommodate my orthotics. Yes – cute travel shoes for Europe can be found! These Sperry Seacoast Canvas Sneakers have a removable footbed, making plenty of room.
• Cotton socks. Please wear socks when you wear your sneakers. No one wants smelly, wet, itchy feet – and cotton absorbs best.
• Break them in. Dance around at home in them, and wear them while you are washing up or making the bed if you do not want to scuff them outside. Just be sure to break them in well before you go on vacation.

Lightweight Shoes For Travel

Don’t be an over-packer. Don’t pack too many pairs of shoes, but when you pack them (and let’s face it, you WILL NEED AND WANT many pairs), think about choosing lightweight travel shoes. Women’s walking shoes can be light, so you can likely find an option with both comfort and lightweight criteria.

Lugging about your heavy bags at the start of a 6-week European vacation starts off fun, but as you collect souvenirs and move from hotel to hotel, you’ll quickly regret packing those heavy shoes (and bags, and jeans, and all of those jackets and shirts you never wore!).

The best lightweight walking shoes for travel are:

Stylish Walking Shoes For Travel

When your shoes rub or pinch, you’re not a happy camper, but I want to look cute too, don’t you? I am not some A-list celeb that everyone is glaring at, but I want to strut the streets of Dubrovnik and pretend I am one of those famous Game of Thrones actors in an excellent-looking pair of walking shoes that just so happen to be suitable for travel, too.

So, do cute walking shoes for travel exist, and if so, what are the best stylish walking shoes on the market?

Comfortable walking shoes, stylish and dressy in design, exist, but keep in mind they won’t be as comfortable as sneakers. Who cares when they look good, though, right? Try the following.

Totally Practical Shoes For Travel

No matter how long you’re exploring or where you’re going, you need to be comfortable when you’re traveling. Otherwise, you will have a miserable journey!

Of course, you could also be looking for comfortable shoes for walking around your destination, a city or something else. In that case, shopping around is the only answer, but these reviews will inform your choice and lead you toward the right decision.

Waterproof Walking Shoes For Travel

It rains on holidays. Sorry, but it can pour for days on end here in Croatia, even in summer. And while it may be cool to skip using the blow dryer and let your hair go curly for a few days, it is not fun to have soggy wet feet. Just because it rains, you can’t stop sightseeing. You just paid an enormous fortune to be in Europe, traversing the globe like a boss, so think ahead and pack just one pair of the best waterproof shoes for travel you can find.

The best waterproof travel shoes for walking in wet conditions are:

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Women’s Hiking Shoes

Note: I am not a hiker, so for this, I asked a few of my hiker pals to get these handy suggestions for you. They all laughed at me when I asked for recommendations for the most stylish pair of hiking boots. How rude.

Anyway, it seems you want to find a pair of hiking shoes that are first and foremost lightweight and then waterproof, followed lastly by fashionable.

Both the Keen Utility & Keen Arroyo options ranked very well for comfort, but they are not something you can wear with a cute outfit out for a meal, that’s for sure.

If you like your feet to be able to breathe freely while you travel, this particular shoe is perfect for you. You could describe it as a sandal/walking shoe, as it is open cut, which gives you total air circulation around your feet.

On top of this, there is a “stability shank” which offers comfort on long walks, and these shoes are designed specifically for the ergonomics of women’s feet, so you know they will fit you properly.

Particularly suitable for long walks over varied terrain, these shoes are waterproof, and they are quick to slip on and off, with an elastic drawcord for fastening.

What You Need To Know About Shoes For Travel

The main thing you have to know is that the best shoes for travel are comfortable shoes.

Stylish shoes, yes, but comfortable first and foremost. Who cares how good shoes look when limping along a cobblestone street in Croatia or Greece?

How far do you think you can walk in those plastic ballerina-style slip-ons? They are ideal for the office, but in Europe, you walk and walk and walk. There is just so much to see; you can’t stop yourself (even heifers like me keep on moving morning, noon, and night), and being comfortable is vital.

So pick your destination, decide what kind of adventures you expect to take once there, then use this guide to score yourself the most comfortable walking shoes for travel in Italy or a perfect pair of stylish travel shoes for New York City, and of course, everything in between.

How Many Pairs Of Shoes To Pack For A Trip

Three Pairs. Honestly, take my years of experience as advice, and don’t go over that. Even a second pair can be enough if you choose wisely. Packing just three pairs of shoes for your vacation will seem an impossible challenge, but shoes take up way too much room in your luggage. Choose wisely. Try to make your first pair the most versatile travel shoes you can find for your vacation.

• Walking shoes. What pair of shoes can you wear for walking to breakfast and beyond? If you get lace-up shoes, they are easier to adjust when your feet double the size after ten hours of sightseeing. If you are a serious hiker, okay, you need good-quality hiking boots, and you’ll have to suck up the fact that they weigh more than sandals and flats. Therefore, I suggest you wear them while in transit, so they don’t take up precious space in your suitcase. So put on your best walking shoes, travel to your destination, and then swap out as needed from your lightweight options in your luggage
• Dress shoes. If fancy dinners and the theater are on your to-do list, you can’t wear comfortable sneakers. Search for a versatile pair you can wear during the day and night. Think about slip-on sandals with a small heel or something flat but strappy
• Boots. Boots look sexy and sharp with jeans and tights and even some summery dresses, so you’ll wear them loads – so long as you get a lightweight pair in a neutral tone if you will be in a cold zone or want a waterproof shoe, a low-cut boot suits perfectly
• Hmm, did I say three? Okay, well, also throw in a pair of rubber thongs/flip flops. You’ll need them at the beach or swimming pools and in some cheap hotel rooms. So that makes four max

Ultimately, the best shoes for traveling are ones that you can wear all day, every day, because you really won’t change them too many times. So don’t scrimp and save, but buy a quality pair even if the price seems to sting at first thought.