I'm intending to bring water shoes (not for hiking)and a pair of sneakers for hiking. If I'm there and decide my footwear choice was poor will there be any places to buy footwear? Maybe in Tamarind or some of the beach towns?

Just get some Land's End Beach trekker's. Can use them in water and as hiking shoes. Did this in March for CR and June for Mexico.

www.tamarindo.com

Extremo sports shoe store Tamarindo heights probably your best bet.

Hi cpcd,

Most people can get by just fine with sneakers for hiking. Just make sure they have decent tread on them. Also, be aware that if they get wet, they might just stay wet for your entire trip! That's why so many folks recommend the meshy trail running type of shoes that are meant to be used in wet or dry conditions. Hiking sandals with enclosed toes (ex. Keens) also work pretty well...

You might want to bring an old pair of sneakers that you can just leave behind, especially if they get wet and muddy. Unless you put your sneakers out in the full sun, they will dry very slowly if at all. Also, the mud there is really funky (reddish clay) and would be difficult to get out of your sneakers. If you get something like keens, you could wash them out fairly easy and put them in the sun to dry.