The BEST Episodes of The Amazing Race
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Nov 28, 2020
Network: CBS
This reality television game show pits 11 teams against each other in a worldwide, 30 to 40-day journey through diverse cities and countries spanning the globe. The first team to reach the final destination will be rewarded with $1 million.
#1 - The Final Push
Season 12 - Episode 11 - Aired Jan 20, 2008
Ronald Hsu & Christina Hsu, TK Erwin & Rachel Rosales and Nicolas Fulks & Donald Jerousek are the three teams racing for the top prize of one million dollars. TK and Rachel have issues with a Detour, while Donald comes down Nicolas after he makes a mistake. Meanwhile, Ronald watches as Christina hangs on for her life in a challenging task.
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#2 - It's a Great Place to Become Millionaires (2)
Season 20 - Episode 12 - Aired May 6, 2012
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#3 - Amazing “Crazy” Race (2)
Season 23 - Episode 12 - Aired Dec 8, 2013
The final teams take part in a human bowling competition in Tokyo; one team wins $1 million.
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#4 - This is the Worst Thing I've Ever Done in My Life
Season 15 - Episode 7 - Aired Nov 8, 2009
The lack of cooperation hinders one team's efforts at an explosive Detour. Also, during the series' first ever "Switchback," Teams return to one of the most infamous Roadblocks in the history of the show.
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#5 - If I Were In Town, I Would Ask For Your Number (2)
Season 11 - Episode 8 - Aired Apr 1, 2007
The teams continue in the second part of a double-length episode. Departing from the Pit Stop nearby the Jan III Sobieski Lozenki statue in Warsaw, Poland, the teams learn that they must travel by charter bus to Auschwitz, Birkenau. The charter buses carry three teams and leave four hours apart. Upon arriving at the Auschwitz concentration camp, teams are required to light a candle and have a moment of silence for the victims of the Holocaust. It's a very emotional moment that teams find themselves reflecting on and in some cases relating to personal experiences, or past history of their own families. Teams then proceed forty miles to a theatre in Krakow where they find themselves facing an Intersection, requiring them to pair up with another team. Two teams work this great advantage by partnering for a Fast Forward, but one loses a sizable lead by being forced to wait for the trailing charter bus. All teams ultimately find themselves heading to the Pieskowa Skała castle. Those that did not claim the Fast Forward must first complete the Roadblock before checking in, but one is too late and is eliminated from the race.
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#6 - Take Down That Million (2)
Season 21 - Episode 12 - Aired Dec 9, 2012
The final four teams race through France and then fly to New York City, where they face a Houdini-inspired challenge before running to the finish line to claim the $1 million top prize.
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#7 - We're Not Working With Anybody, Ever, Anymore!
Season 15 - Episode 9 - Aired Nov 22, 2009
Tempers flare when one team goes back on their word and a Team spirals into last place when their taxi is stolen by another Team.
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#8 - Desert Storm
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 10, 2001
The seven remaining teams start off in El Jem Coliseum, the pit stop for the fourth leg. Upon departure they are given a route marking which tells them they must find a monument known as the Tataouine which is 300 miles away. Although Paul and Amie arrived fifth in the last leg, production problems cause them to move ahead one place in front of Frank and Margarita. When the teams arrive at the Tataouine, they are given a Detour. They must chose between an easy and a difficult game. The easy game is at a hard to find location and the hard game is at an easy to find location. The games are called "Puzzle" and "Listening" .All the teams chose Listening in which they must find the clue using a walkie talkie and find where the other one is. There they will find the clue. The clue says that must find a "yellow and white flag" in the middle of the Sahara Desert and that there are rocks to guide them there. Some teams are a little bit confused as to how the rocks guide them there. But eventual
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#9 - This is Not My Finest Hour
Season 15 - Episode 6 - Aired Nov 1, 2009
Teams go to The Netherlands, One team tells the others a personal secret. Also, the stress of the race is mounting as one contestant breaks down in tears.
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#10 - Man, They Should Have Used Their Fake Names
Season 9 - Episode 10 - Aired May 3, 2006
The teams receive a clue instructing them to travel fifteen miles from their Pit Stop at the South Breakwater to the Silver Bells Tower. Tensions ensue when Eric and Jeremy cancel other teams taxis and then shift the blame to Joseph and Monica. However, it doesn't affect placings as all teams make the same flight to Darwin, Australia --- 1,700 miles away. The teams wade through crocodile-infested waters for a clue and then travel 50 miles to an airfield in the town of Batchelor. One team just manages to reach a Yield before another and then Yields the team they beat. In a Roadblock, one member of each team must take part in a tandem skydive. The teams then travel to the Magnetic Termite Mounds where they face a Detour choice of either Wet or Dry. Some teams fall behind after choosing the extremely challenging Wet task, requiring them to hike and swim one mile through treacherous wilderness. The other two teams choose Dry and duplicate a note on a didgeridoo. While one team arrives comfortably in first place, the rest find themselves facing a three-way foot-race.
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#11 - Mow'em Down Like Grass
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired Apr 12, 2005
The teams travel from their Pit Stop at the Khwai River Lodge to Lucknow, India. The teams then take a series of flights, some prescheduled and some that they have to schedule themselves to make their way to Lucknow, India. Some teams stick with the pack and secure a later flight, while two less-liked teams manage to make their way onto a slightly earlier flight. Once in Lucknow, the teams all choose not to Yield each other and then do a Roadblock that involves searching heavy steel boxes for one of ten clues. Some teams get lucky and find them quickly, while one has a real time of it, but makes it out okay in the end. The teams face a Detour with a choice of Solid or Liquid. All teams pass on Solid, which involves smashing coal and instead choose Liquid, which requires them to make tea deliveries to five people at a local business. As one team lags behind, they receive a standing ovation when they reach the Detour clue. A surprise waits for the teams as they make their way to a locati
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#12 - Sleep Deprivation is Really Starting to Irritate Me
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired Apr 5, 2006
The teams take off from their Pit Stop at the Tempio di Segesta and receive a clue instructing them to drive 135 miles to Catania, Sicily and find the Antiteatro, Romano. This theater doesn't open until 8:30 A.M. and B.J. and Tyler jokingly put up an "official" sign-in sheet which is quickly declared a phoney by Eric and Jeremy. As it stands, these two teams are the only ones to make it in at the opening time, as the others find themselves stuck in traffic or confused on directions. After counting heads on the fence surrounding the grounds of the theater, the teams do a Detour --- Big Fish, requiring each member to carry a 17 kilo swordfish 1/3 of a mile, or Little Fish, requiring them to travel 1/3 of a mile to the same market and then sell 4 kilos of small Sicilian fish. The teams then travel approximately 40 miles to Siracusa, where one member of each team does a Roadblock requiring them to score a goal in kayak polo. Finally, they make their way on foot to the PIt Stop, the natural spring Funte Aretusa, and another team is eliminated.
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#13 - Accidental Alliance
Season 24 - Episode 9 - Aired Apr 27, 2014
Tension rises as the finish line gets closer; three teams form an alliance.
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#14 - Beacon of Hope (2)
Season 22 - Episode 12 - Aired May 5, 2013
After the final four teams go bog snorkeling in Belfast, Ireland, one team's race comes to an end; the three remaining teams scour historic landmarks in Washington, D.C.; the winning team is determined. Part two of two.
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#15 - Do It for the Hood! Do It for the Suburbs!
Season 15 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 25, 2009
The seven remaining teams depart the Souk Madinat Jumeirah pitstop, staying in Dubai. The Roadblock involving retrieving a watch to use to unlock a briefcase and Detours of weighing a half-millon dollars in gold or assembling a dozen hookahs are made even worse by stifling 130° heat. But Mika faces the ultimate test of courage when a six-story waterslide clashes with her dual fears of water and heights.
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#16 - It Was Like a Caravan of Idiots
Season 14 - Episode 4 - Aired Mar 8, 2009
The eight remaining teams set off from the Vila Panoramic and receive a clue instructing them to fly through Moscow to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia and then travel to the hydroelectric dam depicted on the back of Russia's ten ruble note.
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#17 - Do You Know How Much Running I Did Today, Phil?
Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired Apr 26, 2006
The teams receive a clue instructing them to travel by plane over 9,000 miles to Perth, Australia. After receiving money from some of the teams (following being stripped of all cash and possessions in the last leg), B.J. and Tyler then make the same flight as everyone else, disappointing them, as they were hoping they might miss it. Once in Australia, the teams travel to the State War Memorial in King's Park and then receive a clue directing them to travel to Rottnest Island via ferry. They then travel on tandem bikes to a lighthouse and then do a Detour. Sand requires them to drag forty large branches to a marked sand dune (a task called "brushing the beach") while sea requires them to search through fifty crayfish traps and retrieve two crayfish (one per member.) The teams then travel to Fremantle Prison where one member of each team takes part in a Roadblock. The task requires them to search inside the unused prison for a Duracell flashlight and batteries. They then travel through wet and dry waterways to locate a clue. It's a close race to the Pit Stop at South Breakwater by the Fremantle Fishing Club and one team finishes literally right behind another. Unfortunately for another team, this Pit Stop is the end.
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#18 - 5 Continents...10 Countries...And More than 59 Thousand Miles!
Season 9 - Episode 12 - Aired May 17, 2006
As the final stretch of the race begins, the teams travel 75 miles to the Royal Kraal and receive clues on T-Mobile Sidekicks. They're directed to fly over 7,000 miles to Tokyo, Japan and then locate the world's busiest intersection in Shibuya, Tokyo and find a clue on a giant screen. The clue directs them to a statue of a dog named Hachiko, and then to a Detour --- Maiden or Messenger. Maiden requires them to transport a maiden a third of a mile, while Messenger requires them to assemble folding bikes and then deliver messages to two buildings. After completing this task and sleeping in capsules at the Capsule Land Hotel, the teams travel to the Fujikyu Highland amusement park where a Roadblock requires one member of each team to ride on three rides and search for a clue. The clue takes them to the Pit Stop at Lake Yamanaka, where they then use a duck boat to cross to the Big Swan. On the second leg, the teams are directed to fly 9,000 miles to Anchorage, Alaska. A scramble for flights eventually ends with all teams making it on the same flight to Anchorage. Once in Anchorage, the teams travel 30 miles to Mirror Lake. There, a Detour involves a choice of Drill It or Deliver It. As Deliver It is snowed out, all teams choose Drill It, which requires them to drill ten holes in a lake and then use a shack to cover at least two of them. After completing this task, the teams head to Kincaid Park, don snowshoes and hunt for a clue. This clue directs them to fly to their final destination city --- Denver, Colorado --- the same town in which they started. Ultimately, the teams find themselves back at the Red Rocks Ampitheater. The difference between winning and losing comes down to a Roadblock that requires the teams to find a flag for each country they visited and place them in the correct order. Their teammate is allowed to assist verbally, but not physically.
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#19 - I Feel Like a Monkey In a Circus Parade
Season 18 - Episode 6 - Aired Mar 27, 2011
Overwhelmed by a swarming sea of people on the congested streets of India, one team narrowly dodges a traffic collision while another's clumsiness threatens to spoil their chances of acing the Detour.
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#20 - I Feel Like I'm in, Like, Sicily
Season 16 - Episode 10 - Aired Apr 25, 2010
After noodling their way through their first Roadblock, Teams are forced to complete a second Roadblock, and the fate of two Teams lies in the hands of confused cabbies
8.01 #21 - We Got a Chance, Baby!
Season 27 - Episode 12 - Aired Dec 11, 2015
The final 3 teams race to Long Island, New York where, after five continents, 10 countries, and more than 34,000 miles, one will be crowned winners and awarded the $1 million prize.
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#22 - They Don't Even Understand Their Own Language
Season 16 - Episode 11 - Aired May 2, 2010
The Final 4 teams struggle with the language barrier in Shanghai while sorting through hundreds of golden Buddhas and thousands of Chinese stamps in their pursuit for a spot in the Final 3.
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#23 - I've Been Wanting a Face-Lift for a Long Time
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired Mar 29, 2005
In a two-hour episode, the teams travel from the Pit Stop at a polo club called The Martina to Johannesburg, South Africa. Once there, they take part in a Detour that involves either rappelling into and then searching an underground cavern or collecting five items and giving them to the appropriate tribes. Later, the teams do a Roadblock that requires them to search a market for five items and then deliver them to a local orphanage. As the teams race to complete these tasks, one pulls ahead with a Fast Forward, while one team-member suffers a nasty injury. It ends up being a tight finish, but all teams continue onwards for the next leg. This leg sees the teams traveling to a nature reserve, where they one of two scheduled shuttles and feed lions. Later, the Roadblock involves throwing spears. Afterwards, the teams ride Humvees and choose between a Detour task of grinding corn or filling ostrich eggs with water. One team crashes their vehicle and falls behind, but the race to the Pit St
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#24 - Good Thing I Took That Human Anatomy Class in High School
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired Mar 28, 2006
The teams take off from their Pit Stop in Munich, Germany and receive a clue instructing them to fly 850 miles to a one-hundred-year-old opera house in Palermo, Italy. One team manages an early flight and takes off to a nice lead. Once at the opera house, the teams receive a clue instructing them to travel 42 miles in a marked car to Castellammare del Golfo. There, they face a Detour --- Laundry, in which they must search through 2,400 items of laundry or Foundry, in which they must transport a heavy bell. Finally, the Roadblock requires one member of each team to assemble a Greek statue, but they are not told that there are two additional pieces. Once they complete the statue, they travel on foot one mile to the Pit Stop at the Tempio di Siegesto. One team makes a critical error by heading for the Pit Stop before the Roadblock, but ultimately different circumstances cause another team's downfall.
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#25 - You Look Like Peter Pan
Season 13 - Episode 11 - Aired Dec 7, 2008
The final three teams, Nick & Starr Spangler, Andrew Lappitt & Dan Honig amd Ken & Tina Greene set off from their Pit Stop at VDNKh Park and receive a clue instructing them to fly to their final destination city: Portland, Oregon. All teams make the same flight, connecting them through Frankfurt, to reach Portland. Once there, the teams travel to a local adventure park. At this point, one team faces taxi difficulties that essentially put them out of the race. At the adventure park, all teams complete a Detour choice requiring them to overcome their fear of heights by traversing a log high in the air. They then travel by taxi to The Bridge of the Gods, where their fear of heights is again tested, this time by a 2,000 foot zip-line ride to an island. At this island, the teams were faced with a complicated task-- a game board testing their memory of the events throughout the race. The race contained ten game pieces, each representing a leg of the race and behind each was a symbol representing either Route Info, Roadblock, Detour or Pit Stop. Teams had to search through 150 clue boxes for pictures to place in the appropriate spots on the game-board. Each time they placed a correct picture, a green light would appeared and they were able to move on to the next one. Upon completing this task, teams found a clue that directed them to travel to the Portland Building and search for a green dinosaur. They then searched on foot for a Russian food cart and finally a donut shop before receiving the clue directing them to the finish line at a local mansion. The results come down to a taxi race for the finish.
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