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journey ~ travel ~ voyage:

These three words express basically the same idea: ‘to go or move from one place to another’.

However narrow it may seem, the distinction (difference in usage) is there and we need to have at least some general idea of what each of them stands for:

on a journey

“Journey” – noun & verb – is ‘a time spent going from one place to another, especially over a long distance; (very formal) a long and difficult process by which someone or something changes and/or develops’.

{Note: A “Journeyman” is not a person who journeys; he is a trained worker who works for others.}

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“Travel” – noun & verb – is ‘to go from one place to another’, or to go from one place to several places, especially to far away place; to go to a particular distance at a particular speed and direction; (something) to be passed from one person to another’,

travellers ready to travel far and wide

[A ‘traveller’ is a person who travels.]

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“Voyage” – noun & verb – is ‘a long journey in a ship or spacecraft (to go into space in a rocket); a situation in which one learns a lot about others or other things’,

on a sea voyage

[A ‘voyager’ is a person who goes on a voyage or who voyages.]

space voyage

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The next important point is the collocation, i.e. some words take only certain other words to give their meaning, for example, we say: ‘make a mistake’ but not “do a mistake”.  In the same way, these three words take certain other words to give a sensible meaning.  We say: ‘travel expenses’ but not “journey expenses”, and so on…

A comprehensive list is as follows:

Journey

Did you have a good journey?

‘… go on a long train journey’

‘the journey from Bangkok  to Hong Kong’

‘our great journey through life’

‘… journeying overland across the globe’

‘a three days’ journey on horseback’

He’s going on a long journey; he’s making a long journey.

Life is a journey from birth to death.

She’s journeyed all over the world.

‘a day’s journey’                     .

‘a journey through space’

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Travel

‘travel forty miles to work every day’

News travels fast these days.

Travel in the mountains can be slow and dangerous.

‘the cost of travel…’

‘travel books, travel guides…’

He’s travelled the whole world.

‘write an account of one’s travels’

We had been travelling over a week.

She travels to work by bike.

We travelled all over our country.

We travelled over by car.

I love travelling; I love to go travelling.

The old man’s mind travelled over the recent events.

My husband travels for an advertising company.

‘travel through space and time’

Light travels faster than sound.

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Voyage

‘on the outward/homeward voyage’

‘a space voyage’

Make a voyage across the Atlantic.

‘… on a voyage from Mombasa in Africa to Goa in India’

‘the voyage from England to Australia’

The Voyages of Sindbad is an interesting book.

The voyages of the early travellers make interesting reading.

When I give up work I am going on/shall make/shall take a long sea voyage.

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