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. Their next clue brings them to Glacier Ice Beach, where they have a Detour choice of Ice Climb or Ice Search. Most teams opt for the Ice Climb, which involves climbing up a glacier using special gear. Three go for the Ice Climb, which involves searching a seven square-mile area for an orange buoy. This allows some teams to finish fast, but leaves one hopelessly lost for a good while. Ultimately, the 200 mile drive to the Pit Stop at the Blue Lagoon determines the final results, as one team is too late to find the check-in area and is eliminated.

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. They then visit a Viking Village where they stay the night. In the morning, the teams split up into two groups of their choice and then compete to paddle boats across the lake. One team makes a critical mistake. At the Detour, the teams must choose between Endurance or Accuracy. Endurance in involves rollerblading one and three quarter miles, while Accuracy involves participating in three grueling challenges. Many teams initially choose Endurance and then opt to do Accuracy instead. Later, the critical mistake comes back to bite the team that made it --- but the thirty minute time penalty might not be enough to cause their elimination.

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. Both tasks seem rather difficult, one called Count requires successfully counting 2,304 objects, while the other called Build requires successful, proper building of a desk. Some initially choose the counting and ditch it for the Desk option. Many who choose the counting fall dangerously behind. A Roadblock involves rolling rough bales of hay to find hidden clues. There are 270 bales of hay and only 20 clues. This proves very exhausting for many teams and the possible downfall of one. After no teams choose to use a Yield, they check into the Pit Stop at Auf Chapman, Stockholm, but one team does not share their fate.

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. Later, they face a Detour in which they must choose between Stack 'Em Up or Pack 'Em Up --- two tasks involving fish. Stack 'Em Up, which involves stacking the fish in a pile, seems to be the faster choice, but a few teams opt for the fishing and fall behind. Later, a Roadblock involves hauling salt out of a red lake called Lac Rose. The race to the finish is close, but one team is in for some good news.

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. After some teams have confusion about finding the clue, they travel to a statue of busted chains near a church that was partially destroyed in World War II. A Detour has teams choose between linking sausages or going to a Beer House to search for their pictures on coasters and exchanging them for cups of beer at a Beer House. Later, the teams encounter a Roadblock in which one member must race a soapbox car down a mountain. In the end, one team's mistake makes for another rather close finish.

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. Once there, hijinks ensue when the teams are forced to travel in local cars that are notorious for their unreliability. Many teams have breakdowns and are forced to get new cars, or have mechanical work done. Once they've navigated their way, they arrive at a Detour: Catapault Crash or Cannon Run. After the teams complete the Detour, they receive a clue telling them to make their way to the Net Klub Internet Cafe where they'll receive an online clue. By the end of the episode, some teams had not yet even made it to the cafe, which hadn't yet opened.

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 Fast Forward for this episode, one of only two available this season, involves drinking pig's blood as part of a ceremony involving the Legend of the Vampire. The rest of the teams make a Detour choice between either Swim or Paddle. Swimming involves scoring a goal at water polo, while the Paddle option requires the team to use a hand-pump to inflate a raft and then paddle across the Danube. Later, a Roadblock forces several racers to eat a bowl of extremely spicy soup. In the end, things are very close as two teams race to reach the Pit Stop.

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. After it opens, two teams opt to try for a Fast Forward, which one eventually claiming it and scoring a special helicopter ride. The remaining teams take marked cars and find a Detour: Climb Up or Fly Behind. Most teams choose Climb Up, which involves complicated climbing and repelling, but one chooses Fly Behind, which involves searching a large water mass for a buoy with a clue. Although this option seems hopelessly awful at first, it turns out to offer an advantage when the team choosing it finds themselves ahead of many who chose Climb Up. Later, a Roadblock involving grape-stomping to make wine causes the same team to stumble

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. Once they accomplish this, they find a Detour: Raise the Roof or Mud the Flat. Raise the Roof, which involves carrying a thatched roof 2/3 of a mile with the help of locals, seems to be a far better choice. Still, some teams choose to mud the flats, which involves sealing up a mud wall. A couple team-members get finger-cuts for their efforts. Next, the teams take donkeys to Saint George's Church, where a Yield and a Roadblock await them. The Roadblock involves receiving a pendant and searching a crowd of one hundred worshippers for a

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 then did a Detour: Tree Trunks or Elephant Trunks. All teams except Freddy and Kendra chose Tree Trunks, which involved climbing a coconut tree, walking across a high-wire and collecting some sticky sap. The Elephant Trunks task involved playing croquet while riding on an elephant. As one team fell dangerously behind, the teams completed their task, all eventually being bunched at the city of Kandy to make an offering at the Temple of the Tomb. They all then did a Roadblock involving climbing a thousand steps and sighting the Pit Stop using binoculars. However, another team makes a very unfortunate mistake.

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 Roadblock is challenging task involving rapelling down a window and squeegeeing a window to reveal a secret phrase. This leads them to a group of tai chi masters, which they have to search amongst to find one of four clues. The Detour gives a choice of Bricks or Ice. The Bricks task involves carrying 300 clay bricks using a traditional device and then stacking them, while the Ice task involves carrying two 220 pound blocks of ice and then chiseling them. All teams choose the Bricks task and ultimately it comes down to how the teams fare with taxis to determine where they finish at the end of this leg.

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. One team misdirects another but in the end, all travel to a Roadblock at the North Peak where one team member must be very methodical to find a key to a lock. Some team members allow themselves to become extremely frusturated, leading to a surprise for this leg. The three remaining teams then continue in the final leg, bound for the finish line. They receive a clue telling them to travel 5,600 Miles to Honolulu, Hawaii and then find the Lookout Peak at the Pua'a Ka'a State Park.