The BEST episodes of The Amazing Race

#1 - Courteous? This Is a Race!

Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/1/2005

A new group of teams takes off from Long Beach, California on two flights to Lima, Peru. The new teams include "Survivor couple" Rob and Amber, son and mother Susan and Patrick and pals Ryan and Chuck, among others. Once in Peru, the teams follow clues taking them many miles to various destinations and exploring the country and its mountains. Tasks include riding ziplines and traveling by several forms of local transportation. Several teams fall behind after carelessly not searching carefully before locking in times on a task that put them behind the rest of the pack. Many teams express a desire to outfox, outwit and outrace Rob and Amber. A Detour, Rope a Llama or Rope a Basket, gives teams a choice of either leading llamas into pins or carrying heavy baskets two-thirds of a mile. Some teams struggle with the llamas, while other teams breeze through their chosen task. A true photo finish of mere seconds sends one team home.

#2 - The Final Push

Season 12 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/20/2008

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.

#3 - It's a Great Place to Become Millionaires (2)

Season 20 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/6/2012

#4 - Gotta Put Your Sole Into It (1)

Season 30 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/24/2018

In St. Tropez, France, one team tries to stay on track after failing to read their clue. Teams face off against one another in the second head-to-head competition of the season.

#5 - This One is For One Million Dollars

Season 31 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/26/2019

The final 4 teams Race through London, where they take a helicopter ride to Dover Castle.

#6 - Desert Storm

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/10/2001

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

#7 - I Should've Been a Boy Scout

Season 28 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/12/2016

In a series first, 11 new teams of social media stars depart from their own homes all across the country and head for Mexico City, where they set off fireworks and dig deep at an archaeological Roadblock.

#8 - This is the Worst Thing I've Ever Done in My Life

Season 15 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/2009

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.

#9 - It's Always the Quiet Ones

Season 27 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/20/2015

With only six teams remaining, the competition heats up when Racers face a U-Turn, and some teams enjoy the sweet taste of victory after a candy making challenge.

#10 - It’s Not Easy Beating Green

Season 27 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/4/2015

The final four teams race through Hong Kong and Macau, China where they take part in a spectacular water show at The House of Dancing Water and compete for a chance to race in the final leg.

#11 - We're Not Working With Anybody, Ever, Anymore!

Season 15 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/22/2009

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.

#12 - This is Not My Finest Hour

Season 15 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/2009

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.

#13 - I Feel Like a Monkey In a Circus Parade

Season 18 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/27/2011

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.

#14 - Do It for the Hood! Do It for the Suburbs!

Season 15 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/2009

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.

#15 - You're a Champion, Prove It

Season 30 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/3/2018

The Race kicks off from Washington Square Park in New York City with some of the most competitive and accomplished pairs of racers ever. Teams travel to Iceland, where they must traverse a massive canyon high above the Geitargljufur River.

#16 - The Only First That Matters

Season 28 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/13/2016

As the final three teams race from Shenzhen, China to Santa Barbara, California for the final leg of the Race, they face a gut-wrenching leap of faith: jump off a building more than 150 feet high and perform a harrowing task of synchronized mountaineering.

#17 - We're Only Doing Freaky Stuff Today

Season 28 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/11/2016

The Race reaches new heights as teams climb 15,000 feet in the French Alps, and one team may be in jeopardy of elimination after dropping their clue down a mountain.

#18 - We Got a Chance, Baby!

Season 27 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/11/2015

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.

#19 - Bring the Fun, Baby!

Season 27 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/27/2015

Racers face a third U-turn for the first time in the show's history, and teams try to power through an exhausting, late night detour on their way to an Indian wedding.

#20 - Fruits of Our Labor

Season 26 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/1/2015

The final five teams travel to Peru, where the Race gets physical and teams use their fitness trackers to help find their next clue. Also, Blair and Hayley's communication issues reach a boiling point.

#21 - Accidental Alliance

Season 24 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/27/2014

Tension rises as the finish line gets closer; three teams form an alliance.

#22 - Can't Make Fish Bite

Season 24 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/23/2014

Teams face struggles as they go fishing for their next clue in Sri Lanka.

#23 - This Is Where It Ends (1)

Season 18 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/8/2011

The final four teams race through Rio de Janeiro before heading to the finish line in Miami as the season concludes.

#24 - Don't Ruin the Basketball Game

Season 18 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/20/2011

Continuing with the clue Phil provided at the Eternal Tower in Lijiang, China, the teams head back to Kunming with the knowledge there would be a Double U-Turn ahead. A long wait for a train turned into a friendly basketball game with Flight Time and Big Easy. Pointed from the Dounan Flower Market to the Golden Horse and Jade Cock arches, the Detour awaited: teams could "Honor the Past" by arranging dolls by memory only to match a traditional Tibetan dance troupe, or "Embrace the Future" by assembling a solar water heater. Directed to the Stone Forest from the clue at the Double U-Turn, the Roadblock required safe assembly of a model of a dilophosaurus to earn the location of the Pit Stop: Green Lake Park.

#25 - They Don't Even Understand Their Own Language

Season 16 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/2/2010

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.