A sole for shoes, of waterproof and vapor-permeable type, including a lower element of plastic material, with formed thereon a tread with multiple through holes, a water impermeable and permeable to water vapor membrane arranged above the lower element and superimposed on the through holes, the membrane being joined perimetrically and hermetically to at least one component of the sole to avoid rise of liquids through the sole, and a vapor-permeable or perforated mechanism protecting the membrane, arranged below the membrane superimposed on the area of the holes. The sole includes individual vapor-permeable or perforated protective elements, each arranged so as to block a corresponding through hole. The lower element forms, for each through hole, an undercut region for preventing downward extraction for each protective element.