Yeah, I'm pretty sick of my friends saying "OH, BRO, HOW DO I GET FROM ____ TO ____ IN LESS THAN 30 MINUTES?" or "HOW LONG DOES THIS DAMNED ELEVATOR TAKE, BRO?"
So I'm going to try and keep it simple, giving times and such for each boat and where it takes you.

Simple Boats:

VIC TO ORBIS.
Takes about 15 minutes if you're JUST getting on the boat.
I do not recommend using this anymore unless you're trying to get a crimson balrog to kill, because those summon on it. This is if you have to take a shower or clean or eat.

ORBIS TO LUDI:
This is nice if you have something to do. You never have to click anything else and you just sit there and wait. Alt tab and do whatever. Again, this takes about 15 minutes if you're just getting on the boat

ORBIS TO LEAFRE:
Yep, take a ride on the bird. Unless you've already been there, there's no other way to travel. One travel is required at least. Another 15 minute wait, bro.

ORBIS TO ARIANT:
Yeah, yeah. Just like Ludibrium. 15 minute wait, and you're sitting on a blue genie. More than one trip of this is required if you're doing Maker skill quest.

ORBIS TO VIC:
Yes, it's the same way both ways. Most annoying boat ride you could ever take.


Those are the most simple boat rides from Orbis, which is the town in the middle of ALLLLLLLL the towns.

Mini-boats:

ORBIS TO MU LUNG:
This is not really a boat, I know, but it is from Orbis to whatever. This is a one minute boat ride and recommended if you need to get there quick.

ELEVATOR:
This takes you from the bottom to the top of Helios tower, but in the end it's really from KFT to Ludi. I believe it's a 2 or 3 minute wait for the elevator to open and about one minute for it to start and another minute to stop. Make sure you're watching this one, it's VERY easy to miss.

VIC TO EREVE:
Not much of a mini-boat, so to speak, but it is a VERY small boat. Go to ellinia and in a portal near the top. There's an NPC that lets you on at any time and it only takes about 2 or 3 minutes to get there.

EREVE TO ORBIS:
Yes, again, not much of a mini-boat. It tells you the time and such, so I count it as one. It takes about 8-9 minutes.

LEAFRE TO TEMPLE OF TIME:
This is the most interesting and fun of all of them. You talk to an old man (not so much a man, but..) at the top of leafre station. You turn into a dragon and fly (moreso jump over and over) to temple of time.

KERNING CITY TO NEW LEAF CITY:
The train takes about a minute to arrive, 3 minutes to take off, and about one and a half minutes to finish.


Routes:
I'm going to try and tell you the best way to get to towns, certain scrolls that would help, and annoying towers that can be less annoying.

VIC TO ORBIS:
This is iffy. Vic to Ereve to Orbis is the quickest route, but only by a minute and a half. Still, this is WAY better than worrying about crimson balrogs.

ORBIS TO LUDI:
This may cost about 15k, so if you're SUPERSUPERSUPERSUPER poor, take the main boat. The route is Orbis->Mu Lung->Herb Town->Aqua Road->KFT->Helios Tower->Ludi. This sounds complicated, but only takes about 6 minutes. From Mu Lung to Herb Town, there's a bird you can take that serves as a cab. When you're in Herb Town, go to the far left portal and talk to the dolphin to "swim" to Aqua Road. From Aqua Road, there's a dolphin that has an option to take you to Sharp Unknown (Or something that sounds like that). From there, go into the glowing book as if it were a portal and then climb up the well. FROM KFT, go into the glowing book in the middle of the map. Climb the tower and use the helios tower elevator. Then climb up into Ludibrium.