Just a quick warning about Crocs... they ARE very comfortable and most of our family wears them a lot - especially in summer, but my daughter was wearing her Crocs in Barcelona on a recent trip and a piece of glass went right through them and she cut her foot. Probably better to have more sturdy shoes in the big cities where broken glass is common.

Does anyone have a list of cities where broken glass is common?

re: broken glass places

so far (for me) Puerto Rico takes the cake, New Orleans, Ensenada, Barcelona, Cabo...

where else?

Noe and Mary Fran and others,

Welcome to the Bad Feet Club! I have rheumatoid arthritis and it has destroyed my arches and now I have a servere pronation to the arch sides. I must wear arch supports. Got some great over the counter ones at the Foot Solutions store near me. Check the web for one near you. They are a life saver. They are the 3/4 length arches made of strong but somewhat fexible material and they are thin. They fit very well in most of my shoes now - I had to start ordering shoes a half size larger.

My favorite comfort shoe brands that work for my crippled feet are many of the ones mentioned. Also love Eccos since many of them have a steel shank down the middle of the shoe. Any shoes that have have a steel shank offer super arch support so that is another key to look for. I bought a pair of good looking black shoes by Durea at the Foot Solutions store. They have steel shanks and extra depth. Excellent support and comfort, and good looking to boot.

Finn Comfort is another great brand made in Germany but sold online or at Foot Solutions. (I don't work for them but I love them because they saved my life as far as walking)! Finn Comforts come with a solid arch support footbed, also removable.

Also agree about the Wolky shoes! Love them too, I got mine online. So many great online shoe websites!! I think I need to start a new thread!!

Hope the OP finds some good ideas on this thread for her trip.

Ginny

Naots and Memphistos. Pick one. Only need to take one pair. Great for bad backs and bad hips.....4 back surgeries and 2 hip surgeries, and my Naots allowed me to climb the Eiffel Tower, after 3 weeks of Italian cobblestones. Who'da thought? sure not me!

We say in southern Spain: "Te quiero mas que a unos zapatos viejos"

I would pay the money to go see a orthotist or a foot doctor, they can take a look at your feet and tell what shoes you need and send to a shop where they are specialists in fitting shoes to feet.

I realize that the OP is probably in Europe now but I did see the cutest line of comfort shoes while I was shopping in Charlottesville today. They are Earth shoes and can be found at comfortshoeshop.com. I hope this will help someone else.

I always get blisters on my little toes and the backs of my heels. On my last trip I took extra large bandaids and wore them all day on the backs of my heels under soft, smooth socks. No blisters. Sometimes I wear tiny bandaids on my little toes as a preventive measure. But I'm always prepared with blister bandaids just in case--and they do work well.

I also found that a shoe that fits firmly keeps my foot from moving around a lot thus cutting down significantly on rubbing.

I wear an extra wide width shoe but have average width heels, have bunions on both feet, arthritis in both feet, and a bone spur in one foot. Finding shoes that fit well is a challenge. The last trip with sturdy New Balance shoes was great--I was able to be out and about for hours at a time without my feet bothering me. Was I fashionable? No, but I felt great! Nothing on a trip is more important than keeping my feet happy.

I just bought two pairs of NAOT sandals, and wore them all over Europe for nearly a month with no problems. They are undoubtedly the best sandals I've ever had. Each pair cost about $100. Good luck! I empathize!

thanks, gopack and everyone. I have been enjoying my Naots, Eccos and Wolkys all summer around home. They are working pretty well, but I do feel that when I remove the wonderful cushioned footbeds of the sandals and insert my orthotic that I lose some of the shock absorption.

I have found some 3/4 length thin arch supports with a metatarsal pad at FootSmart that mimic my orthotic so I can wear them with some of my pre-existing shoes and will probably use them with new closed shoes in the cold weather months.

I am in the UK now and walking everywhere, but I have to be honest - I'm mostly wearing my Timberland boots with the custom orthotic.

It sure would be helpful if you could give tips as to which style of Naot or Wolky or Ecco shoe you find to be helpful for bad feet - click on the Naot shoes and there are 93 different kinds of sandals! Some look like they might offer more support than others.

TinaLee

TinaLee, I may be able to reconstruct the style names when I return home in a few weeks. In general, what I do is look for the onesthat have removable footbeds, since that is what I need for my orthotics. There are other styles that are supportive and well padded in the footbed that don't work for my feet but ought to for many other feet. I will try to post that information at a later time if I can find it.

Well I feel right at home here! Plantars fascitis and now bone spurs in both feet. No chance of wearing "pretty shoes" for me ...for travel I use SAS Freetime. Actually with my black pants at night, they are ok..and for daytime I use Asics Gel black sneakers. I have orthotics...I am not a picture of fashion..

I tried wearing sandals in Las Vegas last year, as practice for our Fall trip, and I was a cripple from them..so I don't dare wear them in Italy or France.

I keep Nexcare bandages on my heels. They are the ones made for elbows and knees believe it or not. They are great and fit nicely over my heels.

Oh yes, I have very narrow feet...another problem but that's for another post.

Weadles,
which ones did you get?

thanks

I ordered and received the MEPHISTO LADIES MORVEN SLIP-ONS. I paid $119.00 for them. I have worn them a bit for one day. They are very heavy and they hurt my right foot a bit. I may be sending them back.

Has anyone had these kind?

I have bad feet too but couldnt imagine ever being able to buy shoes on the internet. I also have big feet, size 11 , so it is very hard as most shoe stores only carry a few pairs in this size and womens feet are getting bigger so there is more demand but very low supply.

I'll repeat this again! No one's feet are yours , so only you know how the shoe feels. I have VERY bad feet and big for a short person and shoes often feel ok in the store but once on the street-in pain. My cousin has alot of my shoes, new. that didn't help.
Once you find a brand that is perfect, stick to it. At the moment mine is Taryn Rose but way too expensive to have several.

I never thought one could have bad feet. Bad shoes, yes, of course. But after reading some of your posts, I have realized some feet can indeed be bad!

Thankfully, I think I picked the correct ID for this travel site (it was a very close tie between doggiepoo, also keenly discussed, and comfyshoes). :)

Welcome to Fodors, Comfyshoes

Janda I bought some Mephisto sport shoes on zappo's and wish I had sent them back. I thought after trying for a while to break them in that they would be ok but they were *awful* and I left them in New Zealand. (And they were the most expensive shoes I have *ever* purchased, at $300). If in doubt, I urge you to cut your losses.

I have good feet, thank you very much. In fact, they're much loved. However, they're very, very discriminating as to which shoes please them. Which is why I would never buy shoes just because somebody else says s/he liked them, unless I could guarantee that that person's feet are exactly like mine. Nor would I buy shoes without trying them on and walking around in the store.

Anyone who is prone to getting blisters on their heels needs these (I couldn't live without them)

http://www.drscholls.com/product.aspx?prodid=32

Apres, those don't work for me at all ... they just make things worse, in fact!:(

Sorry to hear that Lucie! I love them. I always used to get blisters on my heels, but these have saved my poor feet. I wear them in heels, ballerina flats.

I love my Wolky's... purchased at Nordstrom and Zappos.

It's probably all individual, but the walking shoes that work best for me are SAS, lace-up. I had a pair of ECCO's that I liked, but when I went to replace them with the same style they didn't feel the same. I bought Mephisto in Paris, and I have never been able to wear them for long.
Sandy

I love my mephisto sandals. They act more like shoes. I've had them since my 7 yr old was 4 months, and they are still going. Well worth the money. Perhaps sandals would not be so hard on your heels as the back strap comes up further than many shoe backs.

I love Keens. I have bunions from being a dancer long (lifetimes!) ago and have a great deal of troulbe anymore, finding comfortable, cute and functional shoes for travel and otherwise.
Keens have been AWESOME! No break in, fit like a glove with god room to spare (as opposed to move around, blister room) - lots of ote room.
They are not the most elegant of shoes, but are cute. If you are an older person, but young at heart, try them out! I used one pair of Keens last trip to Europe in late spring (the Bali) and they were good for hiking about (never slid off my feet), beaching, and looked cute with just about anything I wore. Fun, comfortable and functional shoes. Lots of styles at zappos.

I couldn't survive without my ARCHE shoes. They are expensive but they last forever and never go out of style.

Mephisto.
Runner-up - Naturalizer

I look for a cork or similar insole with a lot of arch support.