The BEST Episodes of The Amazing Race
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Jul 23, 2019
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 - You've Just Made Me a Millionaire
Season 5 - Episode 12
The teams set off from the Coconut Palace in Manila, Philippines, knowing that one team will be eliminated. Intense battles and struggles ensue as the teams make their way to El Nido on two charter flights, then struggle with a challenge that involves finding an island with the flag of the Philippines. The mistake of one team costs them dearly, but in the end, a Roadblock that involves rapelling up a high cliff proves the undoing of another. The remaining teams head into the final leg, which finds them all on a flight to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. There, they all struggle to hike up a long hill and then receive a clue telling them to head to Olympic Park. There, they face a detour: Slide or Ride, in which they must either complete a luge course in 34 seconds, or complete a challenging biking course in three minutes. One team attempts and fails the bike course, but all teams eventually end up completing the luge. The teams then make their way to the final destination of Dallas, Texas, wh
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#2 - The Final Push
Season 12 - Episode 11
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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#3 - Amazing “Crazy” Race (2)
Season 23 - Episode 12
The final teams take part in a human bowling competition in Tokyo; one team wins $1 million.
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#4 - Beacon of Hope (1)
Season 22 - Episode 11
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 one of two.
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#5 - Taste Your Salami
Season 20 - Episode 4
The eight remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at Escalinata de Antequera in Asuncion, Paraguay. An unexpected beheading occurs as teams polish off a dirty task, and a random act of kindness leaves one team in tears.
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#6 - Take Down That Million (2)
Season 21 - Episode 12
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 - If I Were In Town, I Would Ask For Your Number (2)
Season 11 - Episode 8
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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#8 - Do It for the Hood! Do It for the Suburbs!
Season 15 - Episode 5
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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#9 - Do You Believe in Magic?
Season 24 - Episode 12
The teams race through Las Vegas, where they face a final challenge designed by magician David Copperfield.
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#10 - Beards In the Wind
Season 23 - Episode 4
Racers take a plunge into the Arctic in Svolvaer, Norway; Marie and Tim have a tough decision to make.
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#11 - Amazing “Crazy” Race (1)
Season 23 - Episode 11
The final teams take part in a human bowling competition in Tokyo; one team wins $1 million.
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#12 - All or Nothing
Season 25 - Episode 12
The final teams race to the finish line in Los Angeles.
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#13 - 5 Continents...10 Countries...And More than 59 Thousand Miles!
Season 9 - Episode 12
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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#14 - Donkeylicious
Season 24 - Episode 8
Six teams encounter a double U-turn; one team considers a major decision.
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#15 - The Gladiators Are Here!
Season 24 - Episode 7
The racers square off with Roman gladiators in a medieval detour; three teams make a deal in hope of avoiding elimination.
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#16 - Accidental Alliance
Season 24 - Episode 9
Tension rises as the finish line gets closer; three teams form an alliance.
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#17 - Hi. I'm Sorry. I'm In a Race.
Season 17 - Episode 12
The final three teams soar to new heights over Southern California, competing in the final leg for a shot at the million-dollar prize and, for two teams, the chance to become the first ever all-female team to win the series.
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#18 - Man, They Should Have Used Their Fake Names
Season 9 - Episode 10
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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#19 - Part Like the Red Sea
Season 23 - Episode 9
The final five teams make mistakes while under pressure in Bandung, Indonesia; a relationship suffers.
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#20 - They Don't Even Understand Their Own Language
Season 16 - Episode 11
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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#21 - Mow'em Down Like Grass
Season 7 - Episode 8
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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#22 - It Was Like a Caravan of Idiots
Season 14 - Episode 4
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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#23 - Do You Know How Much Running I Did Today, Phil?
Season 9 - Episode 9
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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#24 - Working Our Barrels Off
Season 22 - Episode 10
With a chance to compete in the finale on the line, the final five teams race through Scotland, where they encounter a double U-turn that puts two teams in jeopardy of elimination.
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#25 - You Look Like Peter Pan
Season 13 - Episode 11
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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