the best summer sandals.

You may think it premature, but the birds are chirping, the daylight is stretching later into the evenings (so is my children’s bedtime; thanks a lot, time change), and the snow is nearly gone from my backyard entirely. Summer will come again! And with that… SANDALS. I also think being in Mexico last week (we were there visiting Steve’s mother! More on that later.) has thrown me off a bit. Warm weather, sandals… but definitely still winter upon return here in Massachusetts. I packed them away when we returned home as opposed to leaving them optimistically by the back door, but I clucked sadly to myself as I shut the drawer on them, promising them they’ll resurface again soon.

Enough on that. Here’s the thing. Some of these sandals, I’ve found, become unavailable or harder to find in your size as the summer nears, so I feel like, for once, I’m ahead of the eight-ball in sharing this. There’s nothing particularly earth-shattering here, and some of these I have definitely shared a time or ten before but there’s a few new additions, so here goes.

For the ladies:

Birkenstock Yara // Perhaps my most beloved shoe ever. When I bought them, they were hard to find and I ended up going through a German seller on Amazon right before we left for Steve’s sabbatical hoping they would work. I loved them so much, I almost came home and bought a second because I wasn’t sure if they were going out of stock and I didn’t want to ever live a day without them. #Dramatic Now, I’m happy to say, it looks like Birkenstock brought them back for all because they’re on Nordstrom and have been for the last couple years. I wore these when we lived abroad and they never did me wrong. No blisters, no soreness, so comfortable for the large amounts of walking we did. If you’ve been following me for awhile, you’ve seen these puppies time and time again. They’re really fantastic.

Birkenstock Arizona (waterproof) // These are just awesome. Again, so comfortable (a trend with Birks) and the easy slip-on, waterproof factor makes these like a top three summer sandal for me. I wear them constantly. In fact, I brought these to Mexico, and not my Yaras (don’t tell the Yaras). I got Steve a pair of these too, and he wears them all the time. Unless he’s wearing his normal Birks!

Nisolo Huarache // I love these shoes. I wear them with skirts, dresses, pants, whatever. They feel like a slight step up from a Birkenstock in terms of fancy. It goes to show you just how casual I am when I call these fancy. Also, loads of compliments on these. They’re just pretty, I think.

Rainbow flip flops // This is my most trusted flip flop. I’ve been wearing these since high school and they’re just the perfect flip flop as far as I’m concerned. I’ve had a few pairs but the thin ones I’m linking to are my favorite. Wearing them here, a pair that mysteriously went missing. I’ve replaced them with the same style, but in the light brown color.

For the kids:

Natives // These are so great. Waterproof, but also protect the toes and are great for just running around. I sort of wish I’d come up with these myself because they’re genius and I’d probably be rich. We love the Jefferson best. P.S. these pass down like a dream!

Birkenstock Milano // These are the ones I’d recommend most! The boys wear these all summer long, over almost any other sandal. Pictured above! Free, fast shipping at that link. They’re another that can be hard to find sometimes later in the season, so we’ve already restocked ours (Parker’s red pair broke in Mexico–but he wore them to death 2 summers in a row, so I think that’s reasonable!).

Old Navy flip flops // You can’t beat the price on these and they served Parker well for many summers, including our trip abroad. You also can’t beat the ease of getting them on and off!

Onwards and upwards! Tell me about where these shoes will be taking you this summer. Travel is my favorite subject ever.