Do you think it is necessary for me to buy a sleep sack? I've been reading from most sites that hostels require one, but I've also been hearing from a few people that a lot of hostels include sheets in the price of your nights stay.
Posted by
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
172 posts
Most hostels will provide you with one for a small extra charge. We don't bother taking one with us any more.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8944 posts
Check with each of the hostels you are planning on staying in. Some hostels do not want you to use one as they feel it spreads bedbugs from one place to another.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
Nick, in my experience, you may need a Sleep Sack at the occasional smaller Hostel, but most Hostels these days provide bedding, either in the cost of the room or at a small charge.
In many cases, the blanket/quilt is left folded on the bed along with the pillow, and each guest receives a sleep sack (which includes built-in pillow case). I haven't had many problems with this method, although in the last Hostel I stayed at the blanket/quilt had a fairly strong "odor" from the previous guest.
The possibility of "cross contamination" is definitely a concern, so an increasing number of Hostels these days WON'T allow personal bedding (especially sleeping bags).
I've packed a silk Sleep Sack (very compact, light and easy to pack) on the last few trips but I think I'm going to leave it at home this time as I'll be using Hotels exclusively.
Happy travels!
Posted by
Delft, Netherlands
242 posts
I would forget the sleep sack. We have stayed at over 20 hostels in 9 countries in the past nine months and our sleep sacks are still sitting in the packaging on our shelf. Most hostels provide linens for free and of the few that haven't you had to rent linens anyways. We have yet to stay at a hostel that lets you use your own sheets; it is a bug prevention thing.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Absolutely not. Not only does virtually every hostel provide linen now but many won't let you use your own linen because it can help spread bed bugs.
We packed sleep sacks for the last time about four years ago and used them only once. The one place we used them had free linen. We chose to use ours only because we had lugged them for the entire trip and were determined to use them at least once.