Depending on the weather conditions, the voyage itself lasted typically 6–10 weeks. The cost of a passage could be £3 – £9. However, many emigrants went out as indentured servants and paid their passage through working for an agreed period after they arrived in America.

In 1776, a sailing voyage from Europe (typically London or Liverpool) to North America generally took between 6 to 8 weeks, though this could vary wildly based on the wind and current. Traveling Westbound (against the prevailing winds and the Gulf Stream) was significantly more difficult and often took 7 or 8 weeks. In contrast, the Eastbound return journey back to Europe was often much faster, sometimes completed in as little as 3 to 4 weeks. These journeys were grueling and dangerous; passengers faced overcrowding, the threat of scurvy, and the constant risk of Atlantic storms or privateers during the Revolutionary War. For military transports or small, fast "packet" ships, the time could be trimmed slightly, but for a standard merchant vessel carrying settlers or supplies, a two-month journey was the expected average. By 2026 standards, this makes the era feel incredibly isolated, as a trip that now takes 7 or 8 hours by air then required a significant portion of a year's planning and a high degree of physical and mental resilience to survive the vast, unpredictable expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.