Swimming in Croatia - water shoes?

Wear shoes !

We swam at the beach in Hvar and immediately after getting into the water, our friend accidentally stepped on sea urchins - he had 40 prongs in his foot !

It depends where in Croatia you are going, but they are essential in many places and do provide sufficient protection. It maybe that only tourists wear them, but will you be a tourist or a local?

I hurt my feet so bad on the rocks that I ended up buying water shoes in Brac (Croatia). I was surprised that the locals have leather feet and don't seem to mind the rocks at all, but since I was on all fours from the pain and inability to walk straight and balance, I realized I'd look a lot less silly with the water shoes on than trying to crawl on the sand. I say avoid pain at all costs. I didn't experience sea urchins but my feet were very sensitive to the rocks. I grew up in Southern CA where the sand is quite soft so I was surprised that even minimally rocky sand could fee like it did.

Keens Newport sandals ? They're my sandal of choice for regular and hiking wear, and they can go in the water (and dry out well)

Thank for the responses, all. It sounds as if shoes are a good idea.

Jennifer writes:

will you be a tourist or a local? >>

I'm not really concerned with being construed as a tourist. I just didn't want to purchase and pack something that might ultimately be unnecessary.

I have Teva water shoes - very light (and I don't use them for walking on any kind of pavement) so they don't take up much space in luggage. Before I had those, I bought my water shoes in Croatia is some random beach shop when I realized I couldn't walk into the water.

Id get shoes if I were you. In Hvar i step on a sea urchin and spent the next 2 hours trying to dig out the spikes with a pocket knife. It was moderately painful, but an extreme annoyance. Depending on where you are (Dubrovnik) you may have nice sand beaches, but most places are rocky and shoes are nice.

You need shoes, but you can buy a cheap pair there then gift them to your B&B owner. My husband's relatives always joke around with me about my delicate American feet, but I don't care. One year my husband stepped on a sea urchin and since then he wears them too!