Shoes for Hiking Amalfi and Cinque Terre

Erin, your Tevas should be fine for the Cinque Terre. I don't wear open-toe to hike simply because I don't like picking up grit that works its way under my feet so did the CT in the same pair of lightweight Privos I wore for city walking. No problem. The trails are really steep in places, though, and some have lots of steps so I had to pay attention on some of the downhills, as with most most canyon hiking we do.

I would use hiking shoes or boots on all of these: Sturdy soles and closed toes. Italian trails are often very rocky and footing can be tricky. Trails are not as groomed as many in the U.S. or even other parts of Europe. (BTW, we hiked in Italy a lot over the past 5 years.)

I am an avid hiker as well and I can't imagine hi,ing without at least low cut hiking shoes of some sort. Many/most on here would disagree with me about needing these on CT trails. You will see many hiking in flip flops and street shoes, even dress shoes. I value my feet and ankles. If you have been comfortable in your tevas hiking then I would say stick with what works for you, but the trails can be rocky, rugged, and slick if it rains.

Edited to add the Oxford comma.

Not a big fan of anything open toed for hiking.
You definitely don't need/want true hiking boots either.

I think a trail runner type shoe would be ideal, I have a couple of pairs of Salomans but there are quite a few brands if you go to your nearest REI or EMS store. Get something with a rock guard in the front toe area. The non-waterproof type would probably be better, as they breathe more and cost less. Waterproof type are not salt water waterproof anyway so meant more for streams, rivers, etc... which you will not be encountering.

If you have bad ankles you may not like these type of trail running shoes but for those that don't I think they can easily tackle anything these regions offer and the tread is great for rocks even wet ones.

When we are hiking in the mountains of Colorado, we wear our low cut Merrills. They are not a high top hiking shoe, but they grip rocks and dirt well.

When we travel to Europe, I take my black Nike trainers. I wore these on our 5 hour Path of the Gods hike and on 6 different trails through the Cinque Terre. I also used them through our Lake Bled hiking (2 full days clambering up the hills) and climbing up to the castle in Kotor.

They may not have the same traction as my Merrills, but they are light and pack well ! And I never feel unsafe on any of the hikes we have taken....We haven't hiked in Muerren yet....

Erinn, I just hiked between 3 CT towns earlier this month! :-) I wore my Nike Roushe shoes. I took those and Birkenstocks on the trip. Since the Nikes were the only athletic shoes I took, I wore those hiking. My husband wore a pair of his regular "cross training" tennis shoes. Both shoes worked totally fine for us with the hiking.

I would suggest closed-toe shoes, though, just because my black Nike shoes were more dark tan by the end of the day. I cleaned them up just fine back at our apartment in Manarola, but I can't imagine how dirty my feet would have been had I worn sandals hiking! LOL.

We did see a man on the trail wearing dressy loafers. Huh?

Believe it our not I hiked Monterosso to Vernazza in Birkestocks open toe in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Its your feet you know best.

Why can't you just tie the boots on to the back pack? Having options is always good.

I usually only take 1 pr of shoes when I travel.... my walking shoes (usually Sacony or Nike (I call them my tennies))
I have worn them for all my hiking (the entire CT (when it was open end to end), Capri (the trails), and all over in towns and villages. Even out to restaurants etc.....
They are broken in, comfortable, I didn't find any of the terrain too much for the regular shoes I always wear.

Is it reasonable to bring only my Tevas for hiking shoes and no close-toed shoes at all?

From my experience in Italy last October, I would definitely recommend close-toed shoes. What a sight following people in CT wearing flip-flops through puddles, cobblestones, and hilly terrain ... an accident waiting to happen... On the other hand, I was happy with my Merrell closed in shoes.

1. This question belongs in the general europe section.
2. Pack lightly. Only take one pair of shoes, the ones you wear to the airport, if at all possible.
3. The question you should ask yourself is not, 'which shoes do I feel are the cute-est on my feet which I can just sort of tolerate while walking?' The question you need to ask yourself is, which shoes will best and most comfortably facilitate my ability to hike through italy? You need a pair of approximately flat soled, decent quality, well constructed, reasonably lightweight, closed toed, lace-up hiking or walking shoes. Make sure they fit well in the store before you buy them.

Edit: I am a man and I don't think of shoes - whether my own or shoes on a woman, and not woman's feet either - as cute, sexy, or interesting; to me, a shoe is just a shoe, and people shouldn't see your feet most of the time. I currently own a pair of clarks shoes, which work in most situations, but they have no water resistance; every drop of water that falls on them instantly goes right into my socks and on my feet.

I agree with Mike. Bit I have a more important question. Do you want to risk a blister, stone bruise, hurt toe, twisted ankle, etc during your long planned and expensive trip to Europe simply because you did not want to pack one pair of shoes? I use merrel low moab ventilators. My wife, who has history of falls and tripping over her feet, uses ankle high boots and she has not fallen in two trips and endless miles of trip prep.