Hi,
In traveling, "partir" is more formal, i think, but both ways are commonly used as David88 said. For example, if you are going to travel by plane or by seaship and you want to know at what time your plane or ship leaves, in Spanish you would hear answers like: "El avión parte/sale a las 10 am" or "El barco parte/sale a las 7 pm".
Regards.