About this phrase
“Bon Voyage” is the most cosmopolitan farewell — French enough to feel elevated, universal enough to need no translation. In morse it creates a pleasingly varied encoding for a travel-themed pendant.
Cultural context
The French phrase meaning 'good journey' entered English in the 17th century via the aristocratic Grand Tour tradition, when wealthy young Britons traveled the Continent as part of their education. The phrase carries a connotation of leisure travel and adventure rather than necessary travel, distinguishing it from 'safe journey' or 'safe travels.' It has survived centuries of use without becoming stale because the French phrasing keeps it slightly formal, slightly exotic. In modern gift culture it appears on luggage tags, passport holders, and farewell jewelry for travelers heading on significant adventures.
When to gift this phrase
Perfect for retirement travel, honeymoon send-offs, gap year departures, study abroad programs, and emigration farewells. Best for travel that is voluntary and joyful rather than forced or work-related.
When this phrase is the wrong fit
The joyful connotation makes it inappropriate for difficult departures — someone leaving due to loss, deportation, or medical evacuation. In those cases 'safe journey' or 'come home soon' better fits the emotional register.
Variations you might prefer
- safe travels
- have a wonderful trip
- journey well
How the morse encodes
'BON VOYAGE' is nine letters. VOYAGE: V (dit-dit-dit-dah), O (dah-dah-dah), Y (dah-dit-dah-dah), A (dit-dah), G (dah-dah-dit), E (dit) — six characters with notable variety. The V (three dots then a dash) — also Beethoven's Fifth motif and the V for Victory signal — gives VOYAGE a recognizable and satisfying opening in morse.
Most common use cases
- Pre-travel farewell gift
- Study abroad send-off bracelet
- Retirement travel gift
- Emigration parting piece
Letter-by-letter breakdown
Here is “Bon Voyage” spelled out one character at a time, so you can copy it by hand, check a tattoo stencil, or space the beads on a bracelet correctly:
| Letter | Morse |
|---|---|
| B | -... |
| O | --- |
| N | -. |
| ␣ | / |
| V | ...- |
| O | --- |
| Y | -.-- |
| A | .- |
| G | --. |
| E | . |
A single space between letters and a slash (/) between words keeps the pattern readable — the most common mistake in engraved and tattooed morse is running the letters together with no gaps.
The Z hiding at the end of VOYAGE
VOYAGE finishes on G and E, and those two letters keep a secret. G is --. and E is a single .; run them together and you get --.., which is a clean Z. So the final two letters of a cheerful farewell will quietly read as the last letter of the alphabet if the gap between them collapses. On a delicate pendant, where the E is nothing but one small dot chasing the G’s long strokes, that dot is easy to crowd. Keeping it a full letter-space clear of the G is the whole job. Get it right and VOYAGE ends on a bright single tap; get it wrong and it signs off on a Z nobody wished for.
Five dashes where V rolls into O and Y
The heaviest stretch of “Bon Voyage” is the hinge of VOYAGE. V ends on a dash, O is three dashes, and Y opens on a dash — ...- --- -.-- — so five long tones run in a row across the V-O-Y seam before the next dot arrives. It is the longest unbroken run in the phrase and the darkest band on any engraved version. That weight is fitting: the word for the journey itself carries the most metal. A maker building a bar pendant can treat this as the spine of the piece, the one place where the rhythm slows and holds, with the lighter BON in front and the quick A-G-E tail bringing it back down.
A short word, then a long one
The phrase divides cleanly into a quick opener and a longer body. BON is nine elements; VOYAGE is seventeen, nearly twice the code for only three more letters. That lopsided split is useful on a bracelet: the single word gap between them falls naturally about a third of the way along, giving the design an off-centre break that most two-word phrases don’t offer. Both words lean on dashes — eleven dots against fifteen dashes overall — so the whole farewell reads bold rather than delicate. If you want the recipient’s eye to land on the destination rather than the greeting, the sheer length of VOYAGE does it for you.
Buy "Bon Voyage" in morse
Custom-phrase morse jewelry and prints from independent sellers. Send them this page and they'll match the layout above.
Turn it into something physical
This phrase fits a range of keepsake formats:
- Bracelet mockup — if the phrase is short enough (26 morse symbols here).
- Necklace mockup — best for longer phrases.
- Ring design — only works if the phrase is under about 10 morse symbols.
- Tattoo designer — exports an SVG in three layouts and three weights.
Related phrases
- Hope — .... --- .--. .
- Always — .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ...
- Home — .... --- -- .
- Come Home Soon — -.-. --- -- . / .... --- -- . / ... --- …
- Waiting for You — .-- .- .. - .. -. --. / ..-. --- .-. / -…
- You Are Loved — -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / .-.. --- ...- …
Frequently asked questions
What is "Bon Voyage" in morse code?
"Bon Voyage" in international morse code is -... --- -. / ...- --- -.-- .- --. ..
How long does this phrase take to send?
At 15 WPM this phrase takes about 2.9 seconds to transmit. You can hear it at any speed between 5 and 40 WPM by pressing Play above.
Can I put "Bon Voyage" on a bracelet or necklace?
Yes — use our bracelet or necklace mockup tool to preview how it will look as beads, then screenshot and send to a jeweler or an Etsy seller specializing in morse pieces.
What does bon voyage look like in morse code?
It is two words and nine letters. BON keys as dash-dot-dot-dot, dash-dash-dash, dash-dot, and VOYAGE keys as dot-dot-dot-dash, dash-dash-dash, dash-dot-dash-dash, dot-dash, dash-dash-dot, dot. In total that is twenty-six elements, eleven dots and fifteen dashes.
Is there a hidden letter in bon voyage?
Yes, at the end. VOYAGE closes with G and E, and if the gap between them collapses their codes merge into dash-dash-dot-dot, which spells Z. Keeping a full letter space before the final E prevents it.
Which word is longer in morse, BON or VOYAGE?
VOYAGE, by a wide margin. BON is nine elements while VOYAGE is seventeen, so the second word is almost twice the length even with only three more letters. The word gap falls about a third of the way through the phrase.