shoes for travelling

IF you can get away with it, take only one pair of shoes, and wear them on your feet! This will reduce bulk and weight in your luggage. It may be though, that you have to take more than one pair. If this is the case, if at all possible, wear the larger and heavier pair on the plane so that you have to carry less in your luggage.

Tips for travel shoes:

• Only take comfortable shoes. If they're not comfy at home, they won't be on holidays either.


• If they are new shoes, wear them in so that you are used to them before you go. Blisters and travelling are not fun!


• Choose shoes that are culturally appropriate. Even though joggers/trainers etc can be comfortable, in some places they are considered too casual.


• Ladies, DON'T wear high heels for sightseeing. Surely that is common sense, but apparently not...


• In some airports you have to take your shoes of for x-ray screening. Shoes that are easily removed and put back on again are advantageous in such circumstances

Any other decisions will likely be based on the weather you're likely to encounter. For hot weather, wear shoes that keep your feet cool, and allow any sweat to dry easily.

If you're going to need to dress up, say on a cruise, you'll need to consider which shoes will be dressy enough. If you can manage dressy, comfortable shoes that can do your whole trip, great! Otherwise, this is a case where you might need to pack an extra pair.

If you're going to a very cold climate, make sure your shoes are really warm, as well as taking warm socks. My sister is planning a several month trip to Germany around Christmas. They're planning to buy shoes there simply because you can't get warm enough shoes here in Australia. We just don't have that sort of climate.

If you're going somewhere REALLY wet, take shoes that are either waterproof or dry really quickly.

If you need to take more than one pair
If you've tried and tried to work out how you can only take one pair of shoes, and no single pair covers all your likely needs, then you may have to succumb to packing an extra pair. If this is the case, make sure both pairs are light. Wear the heaviest, bulkiest shoes on your flights as this will cut down bulk and the amount you have to carry.

Pack a plastic bag that you can store the extra shoes in, so that any dirt doesn't get spread around inside your luggage.

The MOST important thing, though is that ANY shoes you take are COMFORTABLE!