How would you race across the globe... if you couldn't fly?
Original title
Race Across the World
Released
3/3/2019
Origin country
GB
Genre
Reality
Production companies
Studio Lambert
Status
Returning series
Number of seasons
5
Number of episodes
42
In a frenetic race across the world, travellers can choose any route they like - but no flights or phones are allowed. On the trip of a lifetime, which pair will finish first?
In a sneak peak of BBC Two’s adrenalin-fuelled adventure series, we meet the couples who are taking part in a race to Singapore. In a world where we reach our destination by flying over rather than travelling through, these everyday Brits have agreed to give up their phones, bankcards and the trappings of modern life to journey to a destination 12,000 miles away without setting foot on a single plane. All they have is the money that the airfare would have cost on the day they set off from Greenwich in London. With this money they must eat, pay for both transport and their accommodation, so they must travel smart if they are to make it to Singapore.
Pairs of travellers race to reach the Far East without taking a single flight.
The teams set off from Greenwich. They must pass through five checkpoints to reach their final destination. First up: the ancient city of Delphi.
The five teams head to their next checkpoint - Baku in Azerbaijan - a journey that will see them leave behind the familiarity of the West for the exotic and unknown of the East.
The four remaining teams leave Azerbaijan and head across the deserts, mountains and Silk Road cities of Central Asia in the third leg of the challenge. Along the way, they meet a stuntman with a high-octane car, get the chance to watch a grisly 13th-century Kazakh sport played between horse riders and using the carcass of a dead goat, and brave a storm on the Caspian sea.
The global travel series reaches another level this week as the four remaining teams enter the People’s Republic of China. After nearly a month on the road together, relationships are coming under increasing pressure in what is the most challenging leg of the race to date. With vast distances to cover to the checkpoint - the ancient village of Huangyao - budgets are running low and emotions are high.
It is the penultimate leg of BBC Two’s unrivalled travel series, that has taken viewers on a journey through the wilds of Kazakhstan to ancient villages in China. This leg sees the remaining four teams head through the dense forests and bustling metropolises of Cambodia and Vietnam, and the final checkpoint before Singapore – the island paradise of Koh Rong.
The teams face the final leg of their journey, travelling 1500 miles down the Malaysian Peninsula to Singapore. However, seven weeks on the road is starting to take its toll. Josh and Felix are reliant on the kindness of strangers, Natalie and Shameema make a desperate gamble, Tony collapses with back pain, and Darron is forced to face his fear of dogs. Last in the series.
Pairs of travellers race across Latin America without taking flights or using smartphones.
In the first episode, the teams set off from Mexico City – a gargantuan metropolis and the largest Spanish speaking city in the world.
The race to Ushuaia is underway, and the five teams head out of Copan Ruinas in western Honduras to their next checkpoint – Panama City
Setting off from Panama City, they take to the Caribbean Sea, bypassing the most dangerous place in the Western Hemisphere - the Darien Gap.
As the 25,000km race to Ushuaia approaches the half-way mark, the four teams compete not just with each other but with the extreme altitudes of Peru.
To reach the next checkpoint - Cafayate in Argentina - teams must choose to travel through either Bolivia or Chile, but an unstable political climate in both countries puts everyone’s journeys at risk.
With three teams at the checkpoint at Cafayate in Argentina, one team is yet to arrive. Dom and Lizzie are over 24 hours behind their competitors and after a disastrous last leg must rely on all their ingenuity to claw their way back into the race.
With two teams at the checkpoint – Ilha Grande in Brazil – the remaining teams are engaged in a frantic race to avoid finishing the leg in last place.
The teams embark on the final leg of their journey, heading off on the 4,800 kilometre trek to the finish line in Ushuaia, Argentina, the most southerly city in the world. However, as they prepare to leave the last checkpoint, one of the teams reveals that they have run out of money and will not be completing the challenge. The three remaining pairs rely on different tactics to get ahead, benefiting from risky gambles, lucky opportunities and the kindness of strangers.
The five teams reunite for the first time to reveal fascinating insights into their different strategies and individual experiences - from their highest highs to their lowest lows.
Five teams race across Canada without smartphones, internet access or credit cards.
Five teams set off from Vancouver on a race across Canada. Without smartphones, internet access or credit cards, they will need plenty of ingenuity to make it to the finish line in Newfoundland.
The race to St John’s continues as the five teams leave Haida Gwaii and head into the heart of the Yukon towards the second checkpoint, the former gold rush boom town Dawson City.
The five pairs leave Dawson City and head south to the third checkpoint, the Rocky Mountain resort town of Banff. This time, the team arriving in last place will be eliminated from the race.
The teams head for the fourth checkpoint, the remote outpost of Churchill, on Hudson Bay. The only transport is a twice-weekly train, and they have just three days to catch it.
The teams head for Lake Huron, a 3,000-kilometre journey, but the pairs only have one way out of Churchill – a noisy overnight train south.
In the sixth leg of the race, the pairs must brush up on their language skills, as the next stop is in Quebec. To get there, the teams must navigate Canada’s most densely inhabited region.
41 days since the start on Canada's Pacific coast, the teams now have the Atlantic within their reach, lapping the shores of the seventh checkpoint at the seaside town of Liverpool, Nova Scotia.
The third series of Race Across the World reaches its epic climax as the pairs complete their gruelling journey across Canada. Which team will triumph?
With a thrilling third series of the Bafta-winning adventure now over, our five pairs meet up again to reflect on the adventure of a lifetime. Season Finale
Travellers race across the world without smartphones, internet access or credit cards.
In a frenetic race across the world, travellers can choose any route they like - but no flights or phones are allowed. On the trip of a lifetime, which pair will finish first?
The race to Lombok is well underway and less than five hours separate the teams. Leaving Nara City, they must cross their first border into South Korea to reach the second checkpoint in Sokcho.
The teams enter south east Asia, starting the third leg from Vietnamese capital Hanoi. They must race over 2,000km through Vietnam and into the Kingdom of Cambodia to reach Phnom Penh.
The teams are starting from the third checkpoint in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and must travel 1,400 kilometres through Thailand, one of the most visited countries in the world.
The teams must navigate the full length of Thailand to reach the next checkpoint - Koh Phi Phi - an archipelago of islands immortalised by the Hollywood blockbuster movie The Beach.
After the tranquillity of the islands of Koh Phi Phi, the teams now face a giant leap into the unknown, leaving Thailand behind to embark on a 2000km journey to the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
The teams must travel through the populous Indonesian island of Sumatra, where they will endure an ad-hoc transport system, limited accommodation options and virtually zero English spoken.
Twelve minutes is all that separates the first two teams as they embark on the final leg of their Race Across the World from Jakarta to Lombok.
The five intrepid teams reunite in London to look back at their 51-day thrilling adventure through some of the most beautiful, populous and remote places on the planet.
Five intrepid duos are tasked with undertaking the trip of a lifetime, racing over 14,000km across the world’s largest continent, Asia, taking in three of its nations – China, Nepal and India.
The teams race to reach the second checkpoint – Sanya, one of China's most southerly cities. As well as choosing the best route to get there, they have a typhoon to contend with.
The five pairs are challenged to race from the island checkpoint of Sanya to the mysterious Shangri-La – a city sitting on the edge of the Tibetan plateau towards the foothills of the Himalayas.
After reaching Shangri-La in China, the teams discover where they’re headed next – one of the world’s oldest living cities, Varanasi.
After journeying through China and Nepal, the teams have reached northern India. Ahead of them is a journey of 1,500km north west of Varanasi to the fifth checkpoint, McLeod Ganj.
With over two thirds of the race completed, and almost 10,000km travelled, four teams have successfully made it to the fifth checkpoint, McLeod Ganj.
In the penultimate episode, the finish line is in sight for the four remaining teams, who need to reach the seventh checkpoint - Panaji, the tiny capital of India’s smallest state, Goa.
After racing nearly 13,000 kilometres over seven weeks through China, Nepal and India, the four teams are about to embark on the final leg of the race.
Six months after undertaking the race of a lifetime, the five intrepid pairs meet for the first time since returning home in this reunion episode.
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