I will be doing some hiking around MA Nat'l Park, La Paz/Poas, Carara Reserve, etc. in mid May. What footwear is recommended: athletic sneakers, hiking shoes/boots, Teva style sandals? Trying to think about packing light and footwear is my downfall cause I like to keep the feet happy yet appropriately styled
TIA.

None of these are strenuous hikes so you should be OK in sneakers as long as they have good traction. I personally prefer hiking shoes for any hiking - last year I took sneakers instead and regretted it on the scramble to Montezuma waterfalls!

Here is what I usually take for footwear to Costa Rica:
- hiking shoes/sneakers - wear them on the plane so that you don't add weight to your luggage
- Teva type sandals (my husband and daughter swear by original Tevas while I can't stand them - any brand will do as long as they are sturdy and can get wet)
- flip flops to wear around the pool, on the beach and everywhere else - make sure they are sturdy too, not flimsy so that they don't fall apart on you ;-)

Happy travels and happy feet!

If you're really trying to pack light, there is no reason you'll need anything more than sports sandals for those locations. That's what my wife and I used there. In fact they are all you need anywhere in Costa Rica.

As Iza notes, if you can afford the space and weight, at times you'll be more comfortable in a pair of lightweight, low top, gortex hikers, but they certainly aren't necessary.

Thank you Iza and Ray! Pretty much confirms what I was already thinking.

(And Iza, BTW, I also don't like the original Teva and all my friends swear by them. I much prefer my Lands End sport sandal.)

Teva is my nemesis when it comes to footwear. In the early nineties they bought the little southern Californian company "Alps" that made the best sports sandals in the world a decade before Teva existed. They promptly ruined the design, and put the Teva brand on it.

Chaco's are my current favorite, and fortunately they've become trendy in the last few years so they may be successful enough to survive on their own and avoid the fate of Alps.