I'm going to be travelling round Italy and possibly parts of Austria and Switzerland in April/May sleeping mainly in youth hostels. Do I need to take a sleeping bag? Sleep sheets have been recommended, do all youth hostels provide duvets/blankets or do I need to rely on the sheet to keep me warm?
Thanks for any help.

There is a great board that is geared more towards the youth hostel/budget concept of seeing Europe. There are college students that do the backpack thing and e mail in details of their trips and where they stayed. You can read these and learn a lot. There is also a list of the top 20 or so hostels in Europe. See www.eurotrip.com. I don't think you need a sleeping bag but do some research and make sure! Good luck

Actually most youth hostels ban sleeping bags completely, because of hygiene reasons. When I travel I always bring the sheets with me, it takes less space than a sleeping back anyway. I guess you can hire sheets in most hostels but itīs just easier to bring them with you.

Buy a sleeping sheet for $20 or so. Hostels always provide a wool blanket or something else. Sleeping bags are too heavy and bulky to drag around europe. Besides, every hostel I have ever spent time in has a ban on sleeping bags. Some people bring sheets off there bed at home. The special sleepsheets are worth the expense. They provide a place to put a blow-up pillow (try a camping store) and are closed at the bottom to keep your feet warm. They also come in handy on those overnight train rides.

I've never heard of any youth hostel banning sleeping bags! For survival purposes buy a light summer sleeping bag, thier light and very easy to pack. Most of the hostiles I've stayed at throughout Europe do have blankets and sheets, but you don't know where they've been right. It's better to be safe than out in the cold. happy travels

Sorry, this is just a pet peeve of mine!

their-possessive, belonging to "that is their car"
there- like a place "are you going there today"
they're- they are- "they're going somewhere today"

I have never seen a word more mis-spelled or misused!