Holiday Travel Shoe Packing Tips

Getting ready to pack up for your holiday trip? Whether you’re off to a sunny beach in Mexico or, like me, you’re headed to the grimy but delicious streets of Mexico City; whether you’ll be hiking in the jungles of the Amazon or navigating jungles of family at mom’s house, WanderFeet is here to help keep your feet happy and your shoes looking their best.

Here’s my top five tips for packing shoes to ensure a safe, sound and stunning soles.

1) Soda bottle boots: If you’re packing an adorable boot, like, say, the Born Yolanda, here, keep them perfectly shaped by inserting two liter soda bottles into them (presumably empty, unless you’ve volunteered for drink duty). The bottles weigh next to nothing, and are sturdy enough the hold their shape in a suitcase. Then when you arrive, TA-DA! Perfect boots.

2) Don’t let your flats go flat: To keep flats in their original shape, no soda bottles needed. Just roll up any underwear you were packing anyway (you were packing undies, right?), and shove it into the to to keep your flats nice and fat. For good measure, you can leave your sachet in the shoe too and help prevent stinky tootsies.

3) Pick your party plan: Think through what you’ll be wearing each day, and what type of shoe you’ll want to wear: how much will you be walking, how fancy will you need to be. If you’re sitting at a dinner table eating for three hours, you can get away with wearing shoes that don’t go perfectly with your outfit (trust me), and you can eliminate another pair of shoes. Take the minimum amount of shoes you can get away with, those suckers are heavy! Think about a multi-purpose shoe, like the El Naturalista Dome that can fill many needs.

4) Soles out: Pack all of your shoes with the soles facing out, up against the edge of the suitcase. It will help make the sides of your suitcase sturdier, protecting what’s inside and it’s also great for space saving. Just make sure you used tips 1 and 2 so that your shoes save their shape!

5) Don’t forget the essentials: If you’re going somewhere cold, bring a pair of wool socks to keep your toes warm in the house or hotel. You never know how reliable heat is and we all know how quickly feet freeze up. If you’re going somewhere warm, don’t forget to sneak in a pair of flip flops in case there’s a beach to stroll on—or maybe a shower with something growing in it? Don’t get caught unprepared, these small items can save your skin!

That’s my list! What are your other tips for keeping shoes and feet smiling on holiday trips?

As a person who is both cynical and reasonably active, I was dubious of the toner shoe concept from the beginning, yet overwhelmingly intrigued. Not, however, intrigued enough to get a pair of the giant, chunky shoes that are generally marketed as toning shoes.

Then I happened to be at an event where I was introduced to the New Balance Toning Shoe. Looking at it, you’d never know it wasn’t your average running or walking shoe. Wearing it, you feel just that little extra twinge of effort that you put into walking in it.

Do I truly believe a shoe can make you get into better shape? After wearing these non-stop for about a month, I do. Pick your jaws up off the floor, I don’t think I’ve found some sort of miracle shoe, but the extra boost you get from wearing these did a few things for me.

First of all, I was inspired to walk everywhere. I walked to work and back, over two miles each way. I walked to the bar. I walked back. Every time I took a step, I felt like I was doing double duty, and so I felt inspired to walk even further.

Second of all, these shoes were cute! The white and pink (also comes in black and pink) made me feel stylish, like I was constantly to-ing and fro-ing from the gym or walk dates with my friends, even if I was really heading to the corner store for more beer.

Lastly, that tiny little extra bit of effort in walking meant that I never forgot to think about my body. I stood up a little straighter. I skipped taking seconds on pasta. I chose fruit over cheetos. Whatever it was, I was very health minded when these shoes were around.

These are great shoes for taking on a trip, and I’d bring them anywhere I plan on walking around (they were extremely comfortable to walk in), but even more so they are great shoes to get ready for a trip. To get those walking feet on, to watch your weight before heading to the beach.

I don’t know if the technology involved actually did anything to lift my bum or tighten my tummy, but I do think that these shoes did their job of making me a healthier person.

Linky love: Buy the New Balance Toning Shoe on Amazon

When I got an email offering to send me a pair of shoes to review from ‘Spenco Medical Shoes,’ I was dubious, to say the least. Luckily, upon further research and later sample receipt, I was pleased to learn that the Spenco Yumi Sandals were no bulky orthopedic shoe-looking feet freaks.

Rather, what arrived on my doorstep was a pair of black sandals that, on my feet, could be mistaken for Reefs, Havianas or any other fashionable flip-flop. By look anyway. I say by look because on my feet, the difference was quite perceptible. Cursed with flat feet and weak ankles, I have to be especially careful about wearing flip-flops to keep my feet pain-free. These, as implied by the ‘medical’ in the company name, were safe for my fragile feet. I wore them to shuffle around the corner to my local coffeeshop, to go on a wander around the neighborhood, and I’ll be honest, places that fashion dictates I probably shouldn’t have been wearing flip-flops.

But finally! For once in my life, I could wear flip-flops everywhere, without worrying about being in pain for the walk home. It was a great feeling. For my fellow funky feet-ed people, these shoes are great. If I were picking a trip to bring these on, it would be any beach, anywhere. Stroll straight off the beach, into town, back to the hotel. In fact, if I were on this trip, with these shoes, they might come off only for sleeping and swimming.

Linky Love: Buy the Spenco Yumi Sandals on Amazon