3ata

On a trip of 1-2 weeks where you need clothes ranging from formal to casual and hiking, how many pairs of shoes do you take? I am always trying to pack light but I seem to fail miserably. It seems as I get older I am getting worse instead of better. For the cruise I am going on Saturday I am looking at 1pr black high heel sandals for formal and dressy evenings, 1 pr low heel black sandals for more casual dressy outfits, 1 pr toe in shoes for wear on the plane since my feet get cold, 1 pr casual walking sandals for day wear, tennis shoes for walking and exercise, hiking boots since I plan on hiking, flip flops for pool and to double as slippers and possibly 1 pr beach shoes. I don't see a way to get by with less but packing so many pairs of shoes makes for a heavy suitcase. What do you take? Any advice? And as for clothes I am packing lots of Chicos.

SylviaCaras

Sometimes I can combine the plane shoe, pool shoe, slippers into one pair.

I have a pair of Romika "sabot," no metal shank that I wear on travel days.

Sylvia

Analise

You have areas in which you can consolidate. First off, wear your heaviest shoes on the plane. Those are probably the hiking boots. Yup it's a pain at security but very much worth not having to pack them. On the plane, you can take them off and put on your tennis sneakers you will have easy access to in your carry-on. Your feet will stay warm in your tennis sneakers. If you are dressing up more than two times, bring the low heel balck sandals. Bring the flip flops for the pool and for the beach. They are light and will work well with both locales. I wear flip flops on the beach all of the time. Bring the casual walking sandals for day wear....you'll be using them. So that's it. All I really cut down on was the beach shoes but your packing in the large suitcase is much improved as you will be wearing your hiking boots and keeping your tennis sneaker in the carry on. So all you'll have to pack is the dressy shoes (if you really will be dressy more than once), the flip flops (very light), and the walking casual sandals.

oldpenny16

I have done this for years. I wear my heavier pair for flights and trains. These are a pair of lace up leather shoes that I can wear casually, for light hiking and for colder weather. I pack a pair of really nice loafer style shoes that I wear for evenings and business. The advantage of age! No more high heels! The shower shoes can also be worn for beach or pool use. I gave up heavy hiking boots and high heel strapy sandals a long time ago. My warm weather travel kit for a 2 weeks trip weights 26 pounds bag & all. I don't take off my shoes on long flights as I've had the situation where I couldn't get them back on due to swelling.

swise

- There are crossover hiking/athletic shoes you can get. New Balance has some nice ones. So that would consolidate two pairs into one.

- Bring one dressy pair. If you have a pair that is dressy enough for formal nights and casual enough for informal nights, that would be perfect. Often, you can find a pair of strappy shoes that could do this.

- Bring a pair of Teva-type sandals that will be your flip-flops, casual sandals and beach shoes.

- Bring a pair of nicer sandals for the day.

Wear the hiking/athletic shoes for the plane. If you want to take them off on the flight, bring some warm slipper-socks in your carry-on.

The Tevas and Sandals can be sqiushed together pretty small when packing, the strappies can be surrounded with socks, since they're an irrugular shape but not really all that much volume.

Oh- coordinate clothes so your shoes can all be black or brown (except maybe for the strappies). This way you only have to bring one belt and handbag.

That's what I do when I want to conserve packing space taken up by shoes. You lose out on a bit of being fashionable (i.e. no cute flip flops around the pool). If you want a bit more style, you can always throw another pair in.

Have a great time!

l etoile

Do you know where you'll be hiking?
I usually hike in my Tevas. They've done everything from the Tongariro Crossing to the Alakai Swamp. The only time I bring my hiking boots on trips is if I'm hiking through stuff that may hurt my feet, I'll be hiking for days or if it's a cold destination. (I've brought them for hiking in Banff, for instance, and then I did wear them onto the plane to save space.)

Are your exercise shoes for a gym or outside? I bought the Reebok Travel Trainers that fold in too the tiniest little shoes - they take about as much room as hotel slippers. These aren't great for running outdoors, but are perfect for gyms. You could wear these for your slippers too.

The pair to wear on the plane definitely seems extraneous as you're bringing other closed-toed shoes.

By beach shoes do you mean shoes for walking on rocks around the water? I've worn my Tevas for these instances too. Do you want to swim in them? I've swam in my Tevas. Unless you're doing some serious swimming, that works.

Is it possible you have a medium-height sandal that would work for the casual dressy and the formal dressy?

I can relate to becoming a worse packed rather than a better one as time goes on. One thing I do that might help you is when I return from a trip, I write down exactly what I used of the stuff I brought so I have a good list for next time. I only bring what fits in a carry-on no matter how long I'm gone and I usually fine I still never wear many of the clothes I pack.

3ata

It is just my personal preference to wear closed to clog or mule type shoes on the plane. My feet sometimes swell and I don't like the inconvenience of tie shoes for the airport. I am often in business clothes or at least not really casual clothes. When I am not traveling in tropical climates this is not such a problem. For the cruise, I am looking at 2 formal evenings and dressy casual for the rest of the nights. I think I do need to look at Tevas but I am not sure they will fit my skinny feet. I like to have ankle support as well. I have hiked in all kinds of weather from subfreezing to tropical. My hiking boots are full leather, ankle high and narrow width. Depending on the hiking trip, I can have a whole different set of packing issues-backpack, hiking poles, long johns, waterproof gear,etc. For this trip I think I can skip the beach shoes and I am going to think about leaving the high heel sandals although they are definately better for formal. I just can't do the boots on the plane thing. I have read that for years but it just does not suit me.

rkt10

Hi there,
I too have the same problem with overpacking shoes. Actually overpacking everything.

In addition, I sometimes fly on buddy passes with DL, so I have to dress in business casual if I want to get a possible first class seat.

AND my feet get cold in the plane.

I got a wonderful gift once that is the greatest solution. Wear a pair of cashmere socks. They're expensive ($35) but they're absolutely wonderful. Light and warm. I also wear them hiking.

If you wear a pair of hiking boots you can take your shoew off on the plane, and still have warm feet. The hiking boots should accommodate any swelling that happens during the flight.

Punki

I have serious Austrian walking shoes for cool weather (I wore them in this picture for our little mountain climb) and amazing Cloud Nine walking sandals for warm weather serious walking. If I am headed to a cool weather destination, I wear my Austrian shoes on the plane. If I am headed to a warm weather destination, I wear my walking sandals on the plane (if it is cool in Seattle when I leave I wear them with socks).

My dancing shoes, which are so great that I can comfotably walk three miles or so in them, live in my suitcase-I wouldn't leave home without them.

That's it, walking gear and dancing gear. What else would one need?

oldpenny16

I don't leave home without them!

Punki

Hmmmmm. I never thought about shower shoes. I do always take along a pair of those hotel slippers. I wear them when I am using resistance bands to work out.

I have some cutsie girl shoes that I take from time to time if I have a special outfit, but mostly I am pretty basic when I travel.

Scigirl

Can your sneakers work as hiking shoes? These seem to be the bulkiest shoes you are taking, so to elimiate one pair would go a long way. I'm a light light light packer and so try to never bring more than 2 pairs of shoes. I had (past tense, sadly) a pair of black decent looking sandals that worked for walking, casual dress, dressy (not super formal - but close enough) and were so comfortable.

Sounds like a fun trip - so, enjoy, no matter how many cases of shoes you take!

lalala

On my last business trip I brought a pair of pumps with me and mailed them home. Yup, mailed home a few skirts, a coat and shoes. I didn't want to schlep them to Scotland.

For the rest of my trip I had my pumas and my boots. However, I probably would have brought my danskos (great with jeans, not so hot with more styling skirts) as they are sturdy.

I am learning how to pack ultralight, but 10 day trips with many different occasions means learning how to mix and learning how to say "hey cute platform sandals, how about I send you a postcard?"...

Hey, for the most part, most of us have jobs, credit cards and go to places that sell cute shoes, we can always buy another pair and send them home.

lala

SkiAdcock

I always check luggage, so I can bring more shoes than some who carry-on. And when I'm on trips that require a multitude of clothes I usually brought/bring them. I'm not into wearing the same thing every day, but that's just me & no judgment on others (& hopefully they won't me; to each her own!).

Then for a few years I only brought 1-2 pairs of shoes & worked my wardrobe around those & that worked out quite nicely (still checked; I don't schlep).

But as it's close to 5am & I'm packing for this *!%# trade show, I realized that I've got casual, biz attire, dressy & sporty going - dif activities day & evening every single day for a week (ie, 14 changes), so I'm back to the packing way too much, both shoes & clothes, & while I'm mixing/matching as much as I can, I still have dif purses (no, one color won't fit all, at least for the stuff I'm bringing), shoes, etc. Sigh. Well, thank goodness for checking, skycaps, baggage handlers & bellman!

techgirl

Hehe! I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this.

I frequently head out on an international weekend after a week of business and when I can, I Fed-Ex home EVERYTHING business except my laptop so that I have more room in my bags to shop.

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

As far as shoes, I am a shoe fiend but I generally underpack them when I go on the road. In fact, I've had to go buy an emergency pair because I often only take the ones on my feet and have broken a heel or ripped a sole. I'm learning to pack an extra pair even though I usually think it is wasted space on a short trip.