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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44 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.
Isn’t it!! Comfortable shoes are definitely the best step for prevention – half the time people wreck their feet it’s because of inappropriate footwear!
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!
A silicon insole is a fabulous idea, great tip Sreekar, thanks! Will look to carry one on my next trip :)
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.
You’re welcome Anu – glad you enjoyed Sara’s post! Glad you’ve found success with dipping in hot water with salt – as you’ve said, even if you don’t have rock salt, almost every hotel or apartment has packets of regular salt, so this is a very easy trick to use :)
Right there with you on needing a personal travel masseuse :D! I can usually convince my husband if I give him a back massage too haha! Keeping the spa for the last day is a great way to rejuvenate and make sure you’re not too worn out when you arrive back home.
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
Absoluely Beverley – that’s why we love these tricks so much – easy regardless of where you’re staying!
So glad you enjoyed the post … Happy travels!
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!
They’re so cheap too!! Asia is probably the best region to travel through – work up foot pain, and have it massaged away on a budget at the end of the day :D!
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.
Glad we could set you up with some additional tips to those you’ve already tried. Hope it helps! Happy travels :)
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
Absolutely! I’ve traveled with inappropriate footwear before too, and learned pretty quickly! Glad we could give you the heads up on the dipping method – hope it comes in handy, even though I hope you don’t have any need to use it!
Happy travels :)
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!
Thanks Loes! I’m like you, I much prefer to see everything by foot when I travel, but it definitely takes it’s toll, so it’s nice to have some hotel room remedies on hand to soothe them!
Haha yes, rest is great, but these tricks will help fast track the healing. Good hiking shoes is the best thing for prevention, especially if you do a lot of walking / treks. Trainers are fine so long as they’re comfortable.
Haha and I’m totally happy to be your reference for the need to indulge in massages more frequently :D! Glad you enjoyed the post!
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.
Totally Sandy n Vyjay – I absolutely think people take their feet for granted, but wearing them out can really ruin a trip / day. It’s really important we take care of our feet, even though it’s easy to forget when we’re distracted by the excitement of a trip. It’s when you get back to the hotel room and calm down that the pain kicks in!
Glad you find the soaking methods 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.
I love cycling too :) Can never do long distance bike rides, but I enjoy cycling around a city on rental bikes. And this does usually take a lot of pressure off your feet.
Walking is a really great way to get around most places though, and explore if you’re discovering a new city. Great tip on the added salt in hot water – easy trick too in that you can usually get salt everywhere, even in hotel rooms. Thanks for the tip!
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!
Thanks Paige – glad you enjoyed the post! OMG I can only imagine the toll 35k steps will take!
Yes, comfortable shoes are a definite must – the most important part of prevention. I think the person who prioritizes fashion over comfortable shoes when traveling will only make that mistake once!!
Massages in SE Asia are so cheap you can have them every day!
Nice post, thank you so much for these helpful tips
Glad you enjoyed it Steve – happy Sara’s tips were a help!
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!
You’re welcome Krystal. Yes, definitely use the preventative measures, like comfortable shoes etc, but if your feet still hurt after hiking and running these should definitely help.
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 N! Glad Sara’s tips were helpful for you :) One of the hotels I used to work at had a standing desk, and yes, we were on our feet for 8+ hours a day, with very poor floor boards. So these really helped!!
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.
Glad you enjoyed the post Chris – totally agree that we take foot care for granted, until they start to ache! Glad Sara could set you up with some tips :)
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.
Thanks Bety, glad Sara’s recommendations were helpful for you. Hopefully they’ll make traveling easier for you going forward :)
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 tip, thanks for sharing – pre training especially for an active vacation where you’ll be walking a lot, will definitely help with stamina and fatigue as well as being used to being on your feet :)
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.
Thanks Kyle, I’m glad the post was helpful for you. Fabulous to hear that you’re utilizing compression socks – they can really help a lot :)
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 for sharing your experience Chris. Happy travels :)
Thanks, I will follow the way you do so that to fulfill my happiness for removing the pain and smooth my feet!
Glad the post was helpful for you :)
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.
Glad you enjoyed the post Darcy – thanks for the tip on wrapping a hot towel in place of a foot bath – a great idea especially as towels are always readily available in hotel rooms :)
Happy travels!
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.
That’s an impressive amount of walking!! Thanks for sharing your pillow trick Ron, will try that on my next walking trip! :)