The tag attached to my Sanuk Donny Primo shoes said, “These are not shoes.”

Hmmm, well they’re going on my feet, so I hope they’re not hats. Inside though, it says “Shoe upper + sandal bottom = ridiculous comfort.” There, in a nutshell is what makes these different. The cute little logo has a smiley face and you’ll probably be pretty happy too when you’re wearing these around.

Many times when we travel, we need hefty shoes with good support, for climbing that mountain or walking five miles on city streets. Other times, we’re on vacation, dammit, and just want to relax! Sanuk makes footwear for the latter times, for days of palm trees, cocktails on a deck, and block parties. Times when the longest walk is from the lounge chair to the bar and exercise time means billiards, darts, or horseshoes.

This Donny Primo pair my feet have been happily experiencing is from the “Sidewalk Surfers” collection. This model is $15 more than the regular Donny version ($75 versus $60) because it’s leather instead of cloth. Besides that leather upper, it’s got a thick cushiony footbed, a few little holes for air vents, elastic around the tongue, and room for my feet to hang out without getting squished. When I take these off, the people in the same room as me are probably happy that these shoes are treated with an AEGIS Antimicrobial additive to keep them from getting stinky.

Even "The Unit" could relax in these...

These Sanuks are made with premium leather that’s soft and supple. They felt fantastic when I first put them on and even better after I wore them a few times. Like Kara, I’m a little skeptical about the barefoot footwear fad, but these are a nice compromise: flexible, but with enough padding that you don’t feel every pebble. I’ve worn them all through a few lazy weekends and haven’t had sore feet.

The reason these make great travel shoes though, besides practically forcing you to chill out and relax, is that there’s no structure to the top of them. These will lie completely flat in that last half inch of space in your suitcase or backpack. They really are like sandals in that way, but with just a little leather on the top that covers your feet.

Sanuk has all kinds of great footwear for men and women, from flip-flops and sandals to Vans-style structured shoes. They have shoes with soles made from yoga mats and others with a secret stash pocket for your cash. See them all at Sanuk.com.

Get the Donny Primo model at PlanetShoes.com.