The teams take off from the United States to Iceland, racing to make one of three flights that connect to Iceland. Weather delays move some teams from first to last, but the teams all end up together at Europe's largest glacier. After doing some snowmobiling, they camp on the glacier for the night and then take charters leaving at half-hour intervals determined by tickets they pulled from their tents

The teams travel from their Pit Stop at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland over 1,000 miles to Oslo, Norway. Once there, they travel to a ski jump where they find themselves facing a Roadblock. In this Roadblock one team member must perform an ""Olympian"" feat --- sliding down a long zip-line

The teams continue to Stockholm, Sweden, but not before one is assessed a penalty for events in the previous episode. The teams make their way to an ice bar, where they must slide a shot glass made of ice across a bar and hit a target. The teams then continue to the world's largest Ikea, where they face a Detour

The teams continue from Stockholm, Sweden to Africa. They first have to find a clue at a Town Hall Center Tower where some teams are embarrassed but ultimately don't lose ground after misreading an opening time. In Dakar, Sengal, Africa, the teams must find a gravesite of a famous poet and some fall slightly behind for a while on a bit of bad information

The teams take off from their Pit Stop in Africa, first traveling to a slave-house where slaves were held until heading to the New World. There, a memorial to those slaves particularly touches Gus and has him appreciating the human aspect of The Amazing Race. Next, the teams fly to Germany where they search for a clue along the remains of the Berlin Wall

The teams continue racing in Germany where a Roadblock has them bungee-jumping. One team-member nearly passes out from exhaustion but is okay and continues on with the race. The teams fly next 450 miles to Budapest, Hungary

A holiday clips show reviews the season so far and gives viewers a look at never before seen footage, including material that builds on previous scenes and completely new material, such as: - A team loses a clue within the first few minutes of the race - A team puts on make-up in preparation for meeeting Phil at the Pit Stop, as they consider him a class-act - A starving team member uses her looks to gain free food - Struggling with the ""notoriously unreliable local cars,"" many teams have trouble filling up the gas tanks

The teams receive a clue over the Internet at the Net Klub Cafe at opening times allow Lori and Bolo to catch up. The race continues at the Heritage Rail Museum where one racer is sent into a fury after being hit in the head by a gate. The teams then travel to the famous Danube River, but one team opts for the Fast Forward

The teams continue from their Pit Stop in Budapest, Hungary, where they receive a clue telling them to find the area's largest wine cast. Once they find that, they travel to Ajaccio, Corsica and find the room where Napoleon was born. Some teams experience flight difficulties, but things are evened again when all arrive and their destination hasn't yet opened

The teams continue from their Pit Stop on the island of Corsica, France to the town of Nice (pronounced ""niece"") by ferry, where they then receive a clue telling them to get to Addis Ababa in Africa by plane. The teams tussle for flights at the airport, but chartered planes place them all no more than within a half-hour's distance of each other. Once in Addis Ababa, they receive a clue telling them that they must direct their taxi drivers to Lewz Village

The teams receive a clue in Ethiopia telling them to travel by a charter flight to Addis Ababa and then make their way to a stadium. Once there, all teams take part in a four-person relay race, teaming up with pairs of Ethiopian runners. Next, the teams make their way to Colombo in Sri Lanka, 3,600 miles away

The teams take off from their Pit Stop at a hotel near the Lion Rock, receiving a clue to fly 4,000 miles to Shang Hai, China. Once there, they make their way to Hunang Tower, where they find a Roadblock. Also there is a Yield, proving a major misfortune for one team

The teams take off from their Pit Stop and receive a clue telling them to travel by train 800 miles to Xi'an where they must then find the Drum Tower. They then take part in a Detour which involves either choosing the Spray task (traveling 34 miles and then spray-painting a car) or the Scroll task (traveling 31 miles and searching for Chinese characters in bolts of fabric.) All teams choose to spray the cars and then travel 40 miles to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum