Amazing Race - Season 38

Last Thursday night, Sharon and I finished watching season 38 of the Amazing Race. With a passion for traveling, I have enjoyed watching the Amazing Race over the last few years. We finished season 32 in January of 2021, season 33 in March of 2022, season 34 in December of 2022, season 35 in December of 2023, season 36 in March of 2024 and season 37 in May of 2025.

Season 38 premiered on CBS on September 25, 2025. It concluded on December 10, 2025.

This season featured a unique twist: all the contestants are former houseguests from Big Brother, paired with a friend or relative. New elements introduced this season include a U-Turn penalty vote for a non-eliminated team. Elements of the show that returned for this season include the pre-starting line task, the international starting line, gifting a second Express Pass to another team, and the Hazard.

The legs of the race included:

• Leg 1 (Netherlands)
• Leg 2 (Netherlands → Czech Republic) [Prague]
• Leg 3 (Czech Republic)
• Leg 4 (Czech Republic → Hungary) [Budapest]
• Leg 5 (Hungary → Croatia) [Dubrovnik - Buža Bar!]
• Leg 6 (Croatia)
• Leg 7 (Croatia → Romania) [Bucharest]
• Leg 8 (Romania)
• Leg 9 (Romania → Greece)
• Leg 10 (Greece → Italy)
• Leg 11 (Italy → France) [Paris]
• Leg 12 (France → United States)

Brothers and entrepreneurs Jas and Jag Bains were the winners of this season. We were rooting for them most of the second half of the race; they deserved to win. Dating couple Kyland Young and Taylor Hale finished in second place, and brothers Joseph and Adam Abdin (who we were actively rooting against) finished in third place.

My enjoyment of the season was a little marred by the fact that I didn't like most of the teams... I particularly enjoyed the episodes filmed in Dubrovnik. We spent six nights there in 2024.

Taking advantage of some holiday discounts offered by Viking, Sharon and I have booked the Viking river cruise Passage to Eastern Europe with a pre-trip to Prague. The trip includes Prague, Budapest and Bucharest! Additionally, we are planning to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in Paris in October!