Protect Your Feet: These are the Best Shoes for Costa Rica

Whether you’re coming to Costa Rica to lay on the beach, hike up a mountain or embrace your adventurous spirit, which pair of shoes you bring to Costa Rica can make or break a trip.

This post will tell you which are the best shoes for Costa Rica and which shoes you should bring for your trip.

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Our Personal Favorites Shoes for Costa Rica

Besides flip flops and slides, here is what we have in our closet for shoes. We both also have a pair of cheap water shoes we bought at the supermarket in La Fortuna.

Samantha: KEEN Astoria Closed Toe Sandals, On Cloudtrax Hiking Boots, Merrell Moab 3 Waterproof Hiking Shoes and Hoka Clifton 10 Sneaker.

Yeison: KEEN Newport H2 Closed Toe Water Sandal, Salomen XA Pro 3D Gore-Tex Trail Running Shoes, REI Co-op Flash Hiking Boots (discontinued) and Hoka Challenger Air.

Yeison prefers to wear completely closed shoes during walks/hikes as he is very allergic to ant bites. He will only wear his KEEN sandals when we do water activities like white water rafting.

To help prevent against bug bites, he wears insect repellent socks.

What Are the Best Shoes for Costa Rica?

What kind of shoes you bring to Costa Rica depends on what you are doing, where you are going and when you are visiting.

Sightseeing, easy walks in the forest and beach: Flip flops and a pair of comfortable walking shoes.

Moderate hikes in the rainforest and easy outdoor adventures: Flip flops, closed toed hiking sandals or light trail running shoes and casual sneakers.

Long hikes in the rainforest and more challenging outdoor activities: Waterproof trail running shoes or hiking shoes, flip flops and casual sneakers.

Don’t forget to check our complete Costa Rica packing list for more information on what to bring!

For Sightseeing, Easy Walks/Short Hikes and Beach

If your trip consists of beach, a visit to a popular, well maintained national park like Poas Volcano and Irazu Volcano, some city sightseeing, then a pair of flip flops/sandals and comfortable and sturdy walking shoes will work.

However, if you add a light water activity like ATV tours, river tubing or snorkeling, a pair of water shoes is recommended to avoid soggy socks and sneakers.

For Beach, Longer Hikes in the Rainforest and Outdoor Adventures

For beach, longer hikes and several outdoor adventures, we recommend flip flops, closed toed hiking sandals or light trail running shoes and casual sneakers.

Longer hikes will be places like Rio Celeste (Tenorio Volcano National Park), Arenal Volcano National Park, Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Manuel Antonio National Park, Los Quetzales National Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Carara National Park, and Cahuita National Park.

White water rafting, river tubing or waterfall rappelling: Water shoes or closed toed hiking sandals will be fine.

You can wear open toed adventure sandals for white water rafting, but closed toed will protect your toes.

For Rural Areas, Long Hikes and Visiting During Peak Rainy Season

If you are visiting more rural areas and plan to do long hikes or more extreme outdoor adventures, then we highly recommend waterproof trail running shoes or waterproof hiking shoes.

These are places like Corcovado National Park, Bajos del Toro, Turrialba, Tortuguero National Park, San Vito, Tapanti National Park and Braulio Carrillo National Park. This also includes any rural hikes like Cerro Dragon, Cerro Tinajita, etc.

If you plan to hike Chirripo (hardest and highest elevation hike in Costa Rica), then you must have hiking boots.

Rainy Season

If you plan to visit during the rainy season, we recommend to bring waterproof shoes or spray your shoes with a waterproof spray.

Dry season is December through April and rainy season is May through November for most of the country. October is the summer month on the Caribbean side.

Some destinations may still rain in the dry season, such as La Fortuna, Puerto Viejo, La Paz and Monteverde, due to their location and elevation.

See what other essential gear you should bring in our packing list for rainy season in Costa Rica.

Tip: Make sure to read about Costa Rica weather.

Manuel Antonio National Park

For Manuel Antonio National Park, trails are well maintained with some wooden platforms, dirt paths and steps. This area is extremely humid.

It is not necessary to wear any type of hiking shoe here, even if you want to hike all of the in the national park. You can perfectly wear closed toed hiking sandals or a light comfortable sneaker.

If you plan to swim at the beach, bring a pair of flip flops.

I have always worn my closed toed sandals for Manuel Antonio National Park.

Arenal Volcano National Park or the Reserves

For Arenal Volcano National Park or any of the private reserves such as Arenal 1968, we recommend completely closed, sturdy walking shoes.

This is because some of the trails go through the old lava flows from the 1968 eruption, so there are big lava rocks around.

If you are visiting in the rainy season, bring waterproof shoes or spray your shoes. It can get wet and muddy if it starts pouring rain during your hike.

Rio Celeste (Tenorio Volcano National Park)

You need sturdy closed walking or hiking shoes for Rio Celeste. This is because this area tends to rain a lot, even during the dry season months.

Trails are not in the best condition either, and you will have to walk on dirt paths with puddles, huge rocks and tree roots.

We have not found rain boots to be really necessary here, but sturdy hiking shoes or walking shoes are.

Monteverde Cloud Forest

I recommend hiking shoes or trail running shoes for Monteverde. A sturdy pair of sneakers for the dry season.

I do not recommend sandals because it is colder in Monteverde, especially if you visit the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve.

It can also rain more often and some trails do get muddy in the cloud forest reserves. Even if you’re only in Monteverde for 1 or 2 days, we highly recommend you to bring good walking shoes or hiking shoes with waterproof spray.

Osa Peninsula – Corcovado National Park

Rain boots are complimentary for guests at Copa de Arbol Beach & Rainforest Resort, Aguila de Osa Resort and Tranquilo Lodge.

Super useful when we went in June as it was raining a LOT at night! We wore them for our night walks and the Corcovado National Park day trip.

When we stayed at the Sirena Station in Corcovado National Park for one night in June, rain boots were available to rent for $5 USD per day.

For the dry season, it is not necessary to have rain boots for Corcovado National Park. Just comfortable and sturdy walking shoes.

Hiking Sandals

Yeison and I love our closed toed hiking sandals.

They are excellent for activities such as white water rafting, canyoning (waterfall rappelling), white water tubing, waterfall tours, ATV tours, safari floats and ziplining.

If you buy KEEN sandals, buy a half size smaller as they do stretch out. For models, I prefer the Newport H2 and the Astoria West.

These kinds of sandals are also known as adventure sandals which means it can be open or closed toed sandals, with a back heel strap and front strap.

Closed vs Open Toed Hiking Sandals

One of the questions we get a lot is “Which is better: open or closed toed hiking sandals?” They’re both great but let me tell you why we recommend closed toed hiking sandals.

The difference is in protection. Obviously with open toed shoes, your toes aren’t covered and are vulnerable to getting stubbed, poked and bitten by bugs.

If you are doing extremely light water activities such as boating, snorkeling and fishing, then open toed sandals can work, even flip flops.

Excellent open toed hiking sandals are Hi-Tec (used to have these before KEEN), Teva, Clarks (love their shoes, so comfortable) and Chacos.

Sneakers

We mostly wear sneakers in the city. Sneakers aren’t the best shoes for Costa Rica when it comes to outdoor activities.

This is because many adventure activities involve water, dirt or mud.

I don’t recommend sneakers for water activities as you’ll get soggy socks and shoes, which takes forever to dry.

If you’re doing mostly sightseeing and nothing hardcore, sneakers are fine.

Trail Running Shoes

For longer hikes in the rainforest, bring trail running shoes or an all-terrain shoe that is light, breathable, protects against mud and dirt and has a good grip. Waterproof would be best if you visit during the rainy season.

Yeison has a pair of Salomon trail running Gore Tex shoes that are amazing and waterproof. I used to have a pair of Altra Women’s Lone Peak 9 Waterproof Low Sneaker that were awesome.

Hiking Boots

Tall hiking boots aren’t really necessary for majority of the tourist attractions in Costa Rica.

There are a couple of specific places and activities where hiking boots are recommended over casual sneakers or trail running shoes though.

One of these places is Chirripo. This is the tallest hike in Costa Rica and the mountain goes up 12,000 feet in elevation so you need a sturdy pair of hiking shoes.

Another is the Atlantic to Pacific coast to coast hike, El Camino. You’ll need very good sturdy shoes to walk the walk, regardless if you only do certain sections or the whole thing.

Rain Boots

You don’t need to bring rain boots to Costa Rica. You can buy them for around $15 USD at some supermarkets and at the construction store. Then you can donate them when you leave.

Some hotels have rain boots for rent or are complimentary for guests.

The only places you may really need them is Corcovado National Park, Tenorio Volcano National Park or Tortuguero National Park for the hikes in the rainy season.

Water Shoes

Water shoes are an excellent option if you don’t want to purchase a pair of closed toed hiking sandals just for Costa Rica.

These shoes are cheap, work perfectly for light water activities like rafting, tubing and horseback riding and are easy to carry in luggage.

You can purchase them in Costa Rica, nearly all supermarkets and souvenir stores carry water shoes. They cost around $10-20 USD a pair.

Crocs

Instead of flip flops, a lot of people like to wear Crocs. They are super comfortable, breathable and a bit more protection than normal flip flops.

I see a lot of toddlers and little kids wearing Crocs in Costa Rica (tourists), more than adults for going to the beach, walking around town and sightseeing day tours.

You May Need Completely Closed Shoes Depending on Where You Are Going

Some parks and places require you to have COMPLETELY covered shoes. These are places like Rainforest Adventures Park (Braulio Carillo and Jaco) and Mistico Hanging Bridges Park in La Fortuna.

No closed toe sandals, no Crocs, no open toed sandals. Only completely closed shoes.

The Hacienda Guachipelin white water tubing tour requires a closed toed shoe. Can be a sneaker, water shoe or closed toed sandal. No open toed shoes allowed.

Make sure to check the places you are visiting if they are require completely closed shoes or not.

Mistico Hanging Bridges will make you sign a waiver if you are not wearing completely closed shoes.

Recommended Shoes By Activity

• Ziplining: Adventure sandals, sneakers
• Waterfall rappelling (canyoning): Adventure sandals, water shoes
• White water rafting: Adventure sandals, water shoes.
• White water tubing: Closed toed sandals, water shoes
• Horseback riding: Closed toed shoes are best. Can be closed toed sandals.
• ATV: Water shoes, adventure sandals.
• Safari floats: Adventure sandals, sneakers, sandals.
• Coffee/farm tours: Comfortable sneakers or walking shoes. No sandals.
• Night walk: Sneakers, hiking shoes, running shoes. No sandals.

Make sure to check our complete Costa Rica packing list for all the essential items you need to bring.

Read more Costa Rica travel tips here!

10 mistakes to avoid in Costa Rica

Tips for finding accommodation in Costa Rica

Costa Rica Vacation Checklist

• First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
• Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
• Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
• Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
• Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
• Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica
• Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.

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