The purpose of this paper is to estimate the specified time scale of mass transport in a tidal estuary, which could be used to simplify the difficulties in modeling mass transport in a tidal estuary. A mathematical model comprising a 1-D co-oscillating tide flow-field formulation and a 1-D advection-dispersion equation was designed. The co-oscillating tide model was solved using linear Airy wave theory. The advection-dispersion equation was solved by applying an image method and using a finite Fourier transform with a weak derivative assumption, followed by numerical evaluation using the Runge-Kutta method. An approximate time-scale relationship was then obtained by applying the dimensional technique to the governing equations. Finally, using the numerical verifications of the semi-analytical solutions, the rationality of the time-scale relationship was confirmed. The implications of these results are discussed.