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What is the most natural and common way to ask how much time it takes to get from one location to another? For example:

  • How long does it take to get from Guadalajara to Mexico City?
  • How long does it take to get to Los Angeles by car?
  • How long does it take to fly to New York from here?
  • It's 50 miles away? How long does it take to get there?
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  • When travelling in Spanish-speaking countries I always said "¿Cuánto tiempo se necesita para llegar a <there> desde <here>? -- But I always had doubts that it was the best way...
    – hippietrail
    Dec 14, 2011 at 8:44
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    I just noticed your question title talks about getting from A to B but your examples on talk about getting to B. Are both important or just the latter. It would be nice if you could clarify which you need in your question.
    – hippietrail
    Dec 14, 2011 at 8:47
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    @hippietrail: Both, added another example.
    – jrdioko
    Dec 14, 2011 at 17:14

2 Answers 2

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I just want to add a standard Spanish example, as I see the previous answer is more Mexican-oriented (with all due respect).

  • Cuánto se tarda en llegar a Los Ángeles en coche?

  • Está a 50 millas? Cuánto se tarda en llegar?

Also, for differentiation, in Spain we would not replace "cuánto" with "qué tanto" and we would not use "tomar", although we would understand it, of course.

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  • @c4sh: it should be "qué tanto" rather than "que tanto", and "cuánto" rather than "cuanto".
    – CesarGon
    Dec 14, 2011 at 22:20
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¿Cuánto tiempo toma llegar a "lugar" desde "lugar" en "medio de transporte"?

  • ¿Cuánto tiempo toma llegar a los Angeles en carro?
  • ¿Cuánto tiempo toma llegar a Nueva York en avión desde aquí?
  • ¿Está a 50 millas de aquí? ¿Cuánto tiempo toma?

You can use:

  1. ¿Cuánto tiempo toma llegar a Los Ángeles en carro.?
  2. ¿Cuánto toma llegar a Los Ángeles en carro.?
  3. ¿Cuánto tiempo tardo en llegar a Los Ángeles en carro.?
  4. ¿Cuánto tardo en llegar a Los Ángeles en carro.?
  5. You can also replace the Cuánto with "Qué tanto".
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    Also, you can add the pronominal form: ¿Cuánto tiempo se tarda en llegar de Los Ángeles a Nueva York?
    – pferor
    Dec 14, 2011 at 3:59
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    Thanks @Alfredo. Since the OP's sample questions also included a form with an origin and destination would you like to include a translation for that one too? “How long does it take to get from <here> to <there>?”
    – hippietrail
    Dec 14, 2011 at 8:46
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    Is the use of tomar in this sense standard Spanish?
    – jrdioko
    Dec 14, 2011 at 17:43
  • @jrdioko I don't know if it is part of the standard Spanish but it is common in Mexico. For instance you can say: ¿Cuanto tiempo te tomó hacer la tarea?
    – Alfredo Osorio
    Dec 14, 2011 at 19:18
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    @hippietrail done.
    – Alfredo Osorio
    Dec 14, 2011 at 19:25

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