Authored by Sara Smith
Whether you’ve traveled for an active adventure, or urban exploration, a very common goal among travelers is to get the most out of every day. After-all, you have limited vacation days, and you’ve traveled to an exotic location – you want to experience as much as possible.
But there’s no denying that moving around all day comes with one downside— tired and sore feet. A long day of traveling, sightseeing, and walking will definitely take it’s toll.
Many travelers experience soreness, pain, and foot fatigue overseas, and it can be especially difficult if you’re wondering how you can possibly head out again tomorrow.
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what to do to alleviate foot pain so you can rise again and be ready for the next day’s adventures, we’ve got you covered. Here are some tips on how to heel that pain!
Heel That Pain: How to Relieve Sore Feet After Walking All Day
Stretch Your Feet
One of the best ways on how to relieve your feet from pain is to stretch your muscles. You can perform a two-minute stretch beginning from the tip of your toes up to your legs.
As a finishing move, you can push your feet against a wall in order to get that long, final stretch. Foot pain after walking all day.
Put Them Up
Many people recommend that you elevate your tired feet to prevent swelling, and this also helps to facilitate faster healing of the muscles as well.
We recommend elevating the feet at a 30-degree angle from your head. You can prop it up on your suitcase or a stack of pillows at night while you are sleeping or reading. Side of foot pain.
Foot Massage
The best way to alleviate the pain of tired and sore feet is with a massage, and hopefully you won’t have any heel pain in the morning!
You can usually book in for a professional foot massage at your resort or hotel, but if this is not within your budget, there is one technique that you can try – get a small ball or any hard round object and roll it under, at the top and sides of your foot up to your ankles.
By doing this, you’re able to break up the tiny fascia and muscles that have tightened up due to nonstop walking.
FOOT MASSAGERS WE RECOMMEND: CLICK TO AMAZON ↓
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Soak Them
You may have already heard of the benefits of the foot bath and now is the perfect time for you to take advantage of it.
Put warm water in a bowl and add some essential oils to it. These oils can help soothe the soreness in your feet, and it can cure a plethora of other feet problems too. Heel that pain.
Some of the essential oils that you can use include tea tree oil (anti-fungal and antiseptic), lavender (calming and soothing), peppermint, chamomile and eucalyptus (refreshing). Side of foot pain.
ESSENTIAL OILS WE RECOMMEND: CLICK TO VIEW ON AMAZON ↓
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Dip Them
If you don’t have any essential oils with you, you can always go for the basics – a hot and cold water foot bath. Place warm water in one bowl and cold water on the other. Dip your feet in hot water for 2 minutes then switch to the cold water.
This may seem simple, but this basic move can open and close the veins in your feet which can promote proper blood circulation. The good circulation can help relieve your sore and aching feet. Foot pain after walking all day.
Wear Compression Socks
Another easy and effective way to alleviate foot pain is to wear compression socks. This method works the same with the warm and cold foot bath in the sense that doing so can get the blood pumping too!
Another idea to check out if hiking or walking long distances is liner socks. They manage moisture and friction, giving your feet an additional layer of comfort.
WE RECOMMEND: CLICK TO VIEW ON AMAZON ↓
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Choose Comfortable Shoes
There are plenty of ways on how you can alleviate foot pain while traveling. But as they say, prevention is always better than cure.
So if you want to avoid or minimize foot pain when traveling, it is a must that you choose comfortable shoes when walking. In this way, you can travel longer, faster and without any hassles or pain! Heel that pain.
Try to avoid high heels when you’re overseas (or all together!). These have a negative impact on the tendons and ligaments on your knees, and you will most definitely wake up to heel pain in the morning.
My favorite all terrain shoes for all environments are Tropicfeel (pictured above) – Jungle provides the benefit of water shoes, the comfort of sport shoes, the technical outsole material of hiking shoes with the styling of your favorite daily pieces.
It has a Slip Slock construction and sprint laces designed to have the perfect balance between elasticity and strength, meaning you can easily slip Jungle on and off in no time, while also allowing for the shoe to fit so perfectly, it feels like wearing a sock, not a shoe. Check it out here.
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- How to Relieve Sore Feet
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- How to Relieve Sore Feet
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22 Comments
Having sore feet is the worst! Especially if you don’t like to stand still and always want to be out and about like me. I’ve bought a super comfy pair of hiking boots that really help but ill definitely be trying out your other tips.
All crisp advice. I would like to add one. When walking for long or trekking, I use a silicon insole in my shoes. They do help a lot with the heel pain and also keep the sole semi-moist without macerating. Found it very useful!
Thank you so much for compiling these tip for sore feet. I always end up walking a lot on my travels and by 3rd day I have sore feet.
One of the things that works the best for me is dipping the feet in hot or warm water with a bit of salt in it. If you have rock salt – great, else the normal salt which is universally available works.
At the end of the trip, I always wish someone could give me a foot massage. Some of the press trips I did keep the last day for spa or massage and I could not be happier.
This is a really interesting article, I always have sore feet after a long day travelling. All can be done so easily when getting back to the room, so will be using these techniques such as the warm and cool water bathing, or elevating them. Thanks
Ahhhh I miss foot massages in Asia!!! I always walk everywhere when I travel so this is a constant source of pain for me haha. Great tips!
Glad I found it, this is what I need, I have really super-sensitive feet and despite wearing comfortable shoes my feet get soar feet. I knew about soaking feet in hot water but not about hot & cold both and I’m going to try that.
Sore feet can be the worst. I remember going on 6 hour hike with shoes that weren’t the best. I’m glad you shared of of these techniques the dipping method is one Im new to and need to try
Very helpful post! I always feel so bummed when I get sore feet. When I’m on vacation I want to see everything by foot but then my feet get so sore at the end of the day already! I always used to think that a good night sleep would do the trick, but it’s actually worse after a few days of intensive walking haha!
Guess I really need to go find some good hiking shoes, I do already wear trainers but I guess even those won’t really do the trick. A message sounds very nice though! I might indulge on those more often, referring this post as my legitimate source of information to convince my travel partner to do the same haha!
Really great post, looking forward to more in the future!
The feet are such an important part of our body, but we tend to take them for granted. They are the ones who take us to different corners of the world, hence it is imperative that they are taken care of and occasionally pampered too. The suggestions provided are sensible and something one can do anywhere. Of course, the right footwear ensures that the feet do not get unduly strained, but a long trek is bound to take its toll. Soaking in warm water with a dash of salt is something we find really effective.
Truely speaking, I hate to walk and my preferred way is cycling around. However, to explore a place, walking is the best option and hence I always end up with sore feet.
I love this post by Sara. Kudos to her.
I would like to add another way i.e. to soak feet in hot water with added salt. This a great way for a quick heal. We always do this.
These are really great tips. I know my feet often throb after those 35k-step days. I definitely second wearing the comfy shoes. It makes such a huge difference. I never compromise fashion for comfort when traveling. Also, especially in SE Asia, I’m all about the massages!
Nice post, thank you so much for these helpful tips
Thank you for sharing this one. Did my first hike last two and after that really my feet hurt. But, still planning to go on a hike and do some running again. After reading this informative tips will definitely apply them!
Hey, Meg! I truly enjoy reading this post. As someone with a job that requires me to stand up all the time, these tips you have given is really helpful. Regards! :)
Thanks for the great tips, Sara. The feet are often taken for granted until they start aching! I’ve done the hot/cold bath plunge before, but never thought about doing it just for my feet. I will definitely try that out.
Great post! I suffer from foot pain just about every time I travel and this is the first blog I’ve read that has any suggestions on how to alleviate the pain. I plan to use some of those techniques the next time I travel.
I think you should include pre-training. Most people know they are going away, so they could get out and do some walking in the weeks/days b4 they go
Great information. I totally agree with the idea of using compression socks. I use them sometimes as extra support for my plantar fasciitis. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Everyone
I have an issue with plantar fasciitis that flares up now and then from being on me feet for long periods of time. But manage it with exercise and stretching. Recently I just did a review of a compact insole for boots and sandals that I think would be perfect for traveling too. You can see my full review here.
Thanks, I will follow the way you do so that to fulfill my happiness for removing the pain and smooth my feet!
Great tips! Im in the same boat and always want to keep going when exploring new places. Foot baths are the best, though sometimes hard to find a bowl or a suitable container. If that’s the case I will wrap a hot towel around my feet and elevate them.
I walk a LOT. Past three days: 63 K. I don’t have any reason to doubt the validity of the above suggestions, but right now, I have my feet up, I mean, wayyy up.
I take by pillow, slide it down 2-3 feet, and put my feet up the bedroom wall. This is no fuss, no cost relief.
You can cross your feet, uncross them, whatever works best. Twenty minutes does wonders for the overworked feet and your legs will thank you, too.