If someone is going on a trip, it’s polite to wish them “safe travels.”
However, it’s good to have options, so you might want to find more ways to express this sentiment.
You might also be finding that “safe travels” is too informal for your needs.
Either way, we have the alternative phrases you need just below.
Other Ways to Say “Safe Travels”
- Have a safe journey
- Bon voyage
- Wishing you a pleasant journey
- Have a nice trip
- Enjoy your journey
- Have a safe trip
- Get there safe and sound
- Travel safely
- Happy travels
- Hope your journey is free from danger
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- “Safe travels” is a grammatically correct phrase that you can use to wish someone well before a journey.
- As a more formal alternative, you can try using “have a safe journey.”
- If you’re looking for another informal option, try using “bon voyage.”
Don’t click away!
If you’re still wondering how to say “safe travels” in different scenarios, don’t worry! We’ve selected a formal and informal alternative to look at. Moreover, this includes explaining which situations you can use each in and providing some handy example sentences.
After that, we’ll discuss the correctness of “safe travels.”
Have a Safe Journey (Formal)
Another way to say “safe travels” is “have a safe journey.”
This is a formal synonym, so you can feel comfortable slipping it into an email to your boss, like in the example below:
Dear Frederick,
Thanks for clarifying that.
Have a safe journey and enjoy your time away.
Kind regards,
Tanya
Additionally, like “save travels,” this phrase focuses on the trip someone is taking rather than the destination they’re going to.
As such, while you can use “have a safe journey” when someone is going on holiday, you can also use it for shorter trips, like in the below example:
Person 1: Do you have a long drive home?
Person 2: Yes. It’s about three hours.
Person 1: Ah, that is long. I hope you have a safe journey.
Furthermore, in English, phrases tend to be considered more formal if they use more words, so this phrase comes across as less casual than “safe travels.”
Consequently, it’s a good option when you’re speaking to someone whom you think would appreciate a more formal tone, like an old-fashioned senior member of your work team.
Bon Voyage (Informal)
An informal alternative to “safe travels” is “bon voyage.”
This phrase is an example of a loanword. English is full of loanwords, which are terms that are in another language but are used with the same meaning in English.
“Bon voyage” comes from French, as do many of the loanwords in English. The translation of this popular phrase is literally “safe journey” or “safe trip.” However, it’s also used to express general good wishes to anyone embarking on a journey.
Here are some example sentences:
Person 1: Are you on holiday next week?
Person 2: Yes. I’m going to Greece.
Person 1: That sounds lovely. Bon voyage!
Person 1: I won’t be in the office tomorrow. I’m going to be in London for a couple of days for a conference.
Person 2: Oh, I bet that’ll be loads of fun. Bon voyage!
Furthermore, tonally, this phrase is at the same level of informality as “safe travels.”
As such, you should feel comfortable using it as an alternative in any scenario where you would use the original phrase.
Is It Correct to Say “Safe Travels”?
“Safe travels” is a grammatically correct phrase that is commonly used to wish someone well when they’re embarking on a journey.
It is best suited for informal circumstances, as it comes across as rather friendly, as illustrated by the two example sentences below:
- Thanks for staying so late today, everybody. Now feel free to head home and safe travels.
- Safe travels for your trip to Greece next week. Planes almost never crash!
In short, our list of synonyms can help you if you are looking for an especially formal version of this phrase or if you want to change up your language in informal circumstances.
However, when expressing good wishes to someone embarking on a journey, the original phrase is perfectly fine!
We hope you now feel confident using “safe travels,” as well as the alternative synonyms that we’ve explored. If you found this page useful, why not bookmark it so you can travel back any time?
