This post is sponsored. Vivaia gifted me the Maven sneaker and the Kara 2.0 sandal for my trip. All opinions are my own, based on three weeks of real wear. This post also contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Everyone talks about how cute Vivaia shoes are. Almost nobody talks about how they actually feel after 10,000+ steps a day, boat rides, beach days, dirty subway stations, and humid Southeast Asian heat. So I tested them so you do not have to.
I bought my first Vivaia sandal two years ago and loved it so much that when Vivaia offered to send me new shoes for this trip, I said yes. They sent the Maven sneaker and the Kara 2.0 sandal, and I wore only those two pairs for three weeks across the Philippines and Malaysia: boats, sand, malls, hotel lounges, airports, everywhere. This is the full honest review, including the before and after condition and exactly how I cleaned them.
If you have wide feet or semi-flat feet like me and you have been on the fence about Vivaia, this one is for you.
Vivaia Maven Sneaker & Kara 2.0 Sandal
Use code GOHTINA10 for an extra 10% off either pair.
Why I Chose These Two Shoes
When Vivaia reached out, I actually got to pick what they sent, and I was very intentional about it. Southeast Asia in the summer is hot, humid, and you are on your feet all day. I needed shoes that could handle a boat, a beach, dirty areas, nice hotels, and still look decent for dinner. That combination is not easy to find.
I also travel carry-on only, and a lot of Asian airlines are strict about weight even for carry-ons. Both of these shoes are very light, which made packing just two pairs for a three-week trip realistic.
The Maven Sneaker
I picked the Maven specifically because I have wider feet and semi-flat feet, and I have always struggled with sneakers squeezing my toes by the end of a long day.
The Maven has a wide toe box that lets your toes spread out naturally, and it is a barefoot style with a zero-drop sole. Zero drop means the sole is flat, not raised at the heel, so it engages your foot muscles more as you walk. For three weeks of non-stop movement, that mattered a lot to me. The shoe is also very flexible, which eliminated the painful friction I usually get, and you can pull the insole out to wash it separately or toss the whole shoe in the washing machine.
I wore these with low-cut socks so the socks do not show, and I wore them everywhere I did not want a sandal. Around the hotel lounge, airports, city walking, all of it.
Comfort: This is the part that sold me. I am normally a person who can only wear Nike Dunks because they support my semi-flat feet. With most sneakers there is one specific spot that always presses on my foot and gets uncomfortable. The Maven is wide enough that I felt zero pressure there. I walked 10,000+ steps a day, completely pain free, and my overall walking quality genuinely went up. It is also breathable, so my feet never felt sweaty or stinky in the heat.
Look: It does not read too sporty, so it works with almost any outfit. I wore it with jeans and with shorts, and it still looked put together and a little contemporary. I felt comfortable and confident wearing it into nicer hotel lounges, which is exactly what I needed.
The Kara 2.0 Sandal
For the sandal I chose the Kara 2.0 because I needed something I could throw on for beach days, pool days, quick morning walks, and mall walks, but that still had real support and a little height. I am only 5'1", so a bit of lift helps. A lot of sandals are cute but kill your feet after an hour.
The Kara 2.0 has 2x arch support and an elastic back strap that keeps it secure. I was genuinely worried the strap would slip off, especially on boats and at the beach, but it did not slip once the entire trip, and it is still just as strong now. No stretching out at all.
This was actually the shoe I reached for more often than the sneakers, because I was constantly going between boat rides, sand, beaches, subway stations, and malls, so both clean and dirty places. Through all of that it held up really well.
Comfort: Yes, it was comfortable even with a heel. I did not feel pressure points for most of the day. Because it is not flat, I did start to feel a little pressure under the foot after around 8,000 steps, but honestly it was not bad at all, and the cushioning is genuinely comfortable.
Look: It gives an elevated look and goes with most of my outfits, including dresses, jeans, and shorts. I wore it to hotel lounges, airports, and any dressed-down setting, and always felt confident in it.
The Condition After 3 Weeks
Coming back from three weeks across the Philippines and Malaysia, I was honestly impressed by how little wear showed.
The sneakers barely looked dirty, which surprised me because I had taken them on ocean boat rides and through subways and dusty areas. The fabric stayed impressively clean.
The sandals got more use, but the exterior stayed pretty clean too. The only real grime was on the inside footbed, which is just what happens when your bare feet are in a sandal all day in tropical heat.
How I Cleaned Them
Both shoes are machine washable, but in my case they did not even need it. Here is what I actually did:
- Sneakers: I wiped them down with a Clorox wipe. The dirty spots came clean almost immediately, and the side that I cleaned looked nearly new compared to the side I had not touched yet. If they were ever really filthy, you can pull the insole out and machine wash everything.
- Sandals: I used a wipe plus a Q-tip to get into the grooves and clean the footbed where my feet had left marks. The Q-tip trick made the in-between areas easy, and the before and after difference was huge.
The takeaway: these are genuinely easy to maintain. Whether you wipe them down or machine wash them, they come back looking fresh.
Who These Are For
If you have wide feet or semi-flat feet and you have struggled to find sneakers that do not crush your toes by the end of the day, the Maven is the easiest recommendation I can make. The wide toe box and zero-drop sole let me do 10,000+ steps a day pain free.
If you want one sandal that handles beach, boat, mall, and a nice dinner without destroying your feet, the Kara 2.0 is the one, especially for a trip where you can only pack two pairs of shoes.
I want to be clear: I am not saying this just because Vivaia sent the shoes. I genuinely thought these two would be good for my travel, I tested them hard for three weeks, and they delivered. The point of this review is not to sell you anything; it is to show you what real wear actually looks like so you can decide for yourself before buying.
Vivaia Maven Sneaker & Kara 2.0 Sandal
Use code GOHTINA10 for an extra 10% off either pair.
Discount code: Use GOHTINA10 at checkout for an extra 10% off either pair.
