It takes (time): mất

When you talk about time, mất means "takes". The trip or the task comes first, then mất, then the time: Đi Vũng Tàu mất hai tiếng. It takes two hours to get to Vũng Tàu. There's no word for "it": the trip itself starts the sentence. A person can also start it, with the task after the time: Em mất hai tiếng để làm xong. It took me two hours to finish.

To ask, put bao lâu after mất: Từ đây ra sân bay mất bao lâu? How long does it take from here to the airport? The answer can be mất and the time, or the time alone: Mất ba mươi phút. Khoảng ba mươi phút.

The way you travel goes into the trip: Đi xe máy mất mười phút, đi bộ mất nửa tiếng. Ten minutes by motorbike, half an hour on foot. Hết works the same way in speech: Sửa xe hết bao lâu?

Mất also means "to lose" (mất điện thoại, lose your phone), and with money it means "to cost". Said of a person, it is the polite way to say someone died: Ông tôi mất rồi. My grandfather has passed away. With a length of time after it, it means "takes". For how long something lasts, rather than how long it takes, use bao lâu on its own: Anh ở đây bao lâu?