Best Travel Shoes for Women of 2026

There's a particular traveler this shoe was made for: the one who takes her shoes off four times in a day — at security, at a temple door, in a friend's apartment with a cream rug — and wants to do it without bending down or undoing a buckle. The Traveltime is a closed-toe slip-on clog, and it goes on and comes off in one motion.

What surprised us is how much support Easy Spirit built into a shoe that feels like a slipper. There's a real arch under the foot and a sole with enough substance for an afternoon of walking, and the fit is forgiving across the top — useful on a trip, when feet have opinions by day three. This is the pair we suggest to anyone traveling with a parent, or anyone whose feet swell on planes.

It's a city shoe rather than a trail shoe: cobblestones and gravel aren't its friends, and a long hike would be a mistake. For museums, markets, restaurants, and a great many doorways, that's the right trade — and the closed toe means you can wear it into the evening without changing.

You pay more for the 574 than for anything else we're recommending, and the money goes where a travel shoe actually needs it: under the foot. The ENCAP midsole is the firmest, most supportive platform in this group, and it's the pair that still felt fine at the end of a long pavement day rather than only at the start.

It's also the least fussy about terrain. Where the knit slip-ons are happiest on smooth floors and sidewalks, the 574 takes uneven pavement, a few hours of standing, and the walk back from dinner without asking anything of you. The retro silhouette has been in style long enough that it reads deliberate rather than orthopedic, and it works with jeans, leggings, or a casual dress.

Our recommendation: this is the shoe for the trip where the walking is the point — a city you plan to cover on foot, a week of sightseeing, a lot of train platforms. Order half a size up if you're between sizes, because the fit comes up short for some feet, and pack a lighter shoe for evenings.

By the end of a walking day, most travel sneakers still look like something you wore on a treadmill. The VL Court doesn't. It's a low, clean court shoe that reads as deliberate with jeans, a midi dress, or whatever you've thrown on for dinner, and that's why we keep reaching for it on city trips.

On the road it behaves like a casual sneaker rather than a walking shoe. It's light for its size, flexible through the sole, and the low profile stays out of the way on stairs and in tight restaurants. It runs long, so size down half a size, and give it an evening around the house before a full day — the heel needs a little softening.

Think of it as the pair that makes the photos and the dinners better, and pack one of the cushioned shoes here for the long days. That's how we handle a week in a city: one shoe for the pavement, one for everything after. The plain colorways do a lot of the work, because a white or cream court shoe goes with more of a travel wardrobe than a technical runner does.

The case for a hands-free shoe becomes obvious the first time you take your shoes off at a temple door with a queue behind you. These step on without hands and come off the same way, and the heel holds once they're on — you're not walking out of them or hitching them up every few steps.

Underfoot they're the softest pair here after the Go Walk Joy, with a cushioned insole and a soft upper that doesn't press anywhere. They look good with sundresses and shorts, and they don't read as orthopedic shoes, which is more than most slip-ons manage.

Where they earn their place is a trip with a lot of in-and-out: temples, mosques, ryokans, beach towns, a rental with a no-shoes rule. Pack them as your easy pair and you'll wear them more than you expect — on the flight, to breakfast, and anywhere the day involves thresholds. The heel hold is what makes them useful rather than merely convenient.

Fourteen ounces in the box, and most of that is packaging. These feel like almost nothing in the hand: a soft, flexible slip-on with an airy upper that folds into a tote and doesn't complain about it. They cost less than anything else in this guide, and they look better than that suggests.

They're the spare pair — the flight pair, the beach pair, the walk-to-breakfast pair — and that's a real job on a trip. What they aren't is a walking shoe: there isn't enough underfoot for a long sightseeing day, and we felt the pavement after a couple of hours. If you want one pair to do everything, keep looking; if you want a light second pair for the in-between parts, these are easy to justify.

The gum sole does a lot of work here. It's the detail that makes these read as a vintage court shoe rather than a cheap sneaker, and the shape is low and clean enough to wear with jeans, a skirt, or a sundress.

On the road they suit the day you're not walking anywhere in particular: brunch, a market, a museum, a slow afternoon. The sole is flexible, the shoe is light on the foot, and there's nothing that needs breaking in.

The color range is the other draw. The gum-and-brown combination in particular reads more expensive than the shoe is, and it hides the kind of dust and scuffing that shows up immediately on a white pair.

Our verdict: this is the pair that makes a trip look better than it walks. Size up half if you're between sizes, and save them for the days when the itinerary is short and the camera comes out.

You'll be tying these at security. The Princess is a lace-up, so every checkpoint and every temple door means sitting down and dealing with it — unlike the slip-ons here, which you kick off and step back into. What you get in return is a shoe that holds your heel properly, which matters more on stairs and uneven ground than it does in a terminal.

The listed weight is seven ounces, and they feel it: they disappear into a tote and add nothing to a day of walking. The look hasn't changed in decades — low, clean, unmistakably a court shoe — and it still works with jeans, a plain dress, or tailored trousers in a way most sneakers don't.

Where they're happiest is pavement, museums, and city days with plenty of sitting in between. The flat sole and low profile keep them looking neat, and a white court shoe goes with nearly everything you packed.

Our take: buy them for the look and the light bag, not for a ten-mile day. They're the neatest way to pack a shoe that works with almost everything, and the trade is that your feet will want a cushioned pair by evening.