The Amazing Race 30

Production

Development and filming

Casting

Contestants

Results

• A placement with a dagger indicates that the team was eliminated.
• An placement with a double-dagger indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg, and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg.
• An italicized and underlined placement indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop, but there was no rest period at the Pit Stop and all teams were instructed to continue racing. There was no required Speed Bump task in the next leg.
• A indicates that the team used the U-Turn and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the U-Turn.
• A indicates that teams had to swap partners with another team for the majority of that leg.

Race summary

Leg 1 (United States → Iceland)

• Episode 1: "You're a Champion, Prove It"
• Prize: A trip for two to Santorini, Greece
• Eliminated: Dessie & Kayla

• New York City, New York
• New York City → Reykjavík, Iceland
• Húsafell
• Mosfellsbær
• Reykjavík
• Reykjavík

• Teams had to find their first clue below the waterline of the fountain at Washington Square Park. Teams were instructed to fly to Reykjavík, Iceland. Once there, teams had to drive to the Geitárgljùfur, where one team member had to pull themselves along a zipline high above the Geitá river canyon until they could retrieve an Icelandic flag suspended from the line. After grabbing the flag, their partner had to pull them back to the canyon's edge so they could exchange the flag for their next clue. Teams then had to drive to Esjumelar in order to find their next clue.
• In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to ride in an off-road buggy driven by a professional driver in the foothills of Mount Esja. Without taking notes, the team member had to memorize eleven Icelandic letters placed along the riverbed and that each letter had a number denoting its order in the solution. They then had to arrange tiles with those letters in the correct order to spell out their next destination – Ingólfstorg – in order to receive their next clue.
• After driving to Ingólfstorg, teams had to find a group of strongmen, where CrossFit Games champion Katrín Davíðsdóttir asked teams two questions about two national tonics. When teams were able to provide the correct answers, one team member had to drink a shot of Brennivín and the other a shot of Þorskalýsi in order to receive their next clue, which directed them to the Pit Stop: the Iðnaðarmannahúsið along Reykjavíkurtjörn.

• At John F. Kennedy International Airport, teams had to book one of two flights to Reykjavík. The seven teams on the first flight arrived 30 minutes ahead of the remaining four teams were on the second flight. This task went unaired in the episode.
• Miss Iceland Ólafía Ósk Finnsdóttir appeared as the Pit Stop greeter during this leg.
• The race to the Pit Stop mat between Dessie & Kayla and April & Sarah was the closest finish in the history of The Amazing Race. Production had to review video footage to determine which of the two teams actually arrived on the Pit Stop mat first. Phil Keoghan stated: "We have never had a finish this close."

  Leg 2 (Iceland → Netherlands → Belgium)

• Episode 2: "You're the Best French Fry Ever"
• Prize: each
• Eliminated: April & Sarah

• Reykjavík
• Reykjavík → Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Amsterdam → Antwerp, Belgium
• Antwerp
• Antwerp
• Antwerp
• Antwerp

• At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and then travel by train to Antwerp, Belgium. Once there, teams traveled to The Chocolate Line, where a chocolatier gave them their next clue.
• In this leg's Roadblock, teams had to travel to Antwerp's waterfront and find the "SkyClimb", a crane with four suspended rope ladders. One team member had to climb to the top of a free hanging ladder while a crane raised the racers upwards in order to retrieve their next clue before the ride ended.
• This season's first Detour was a choice between Old Print or Diamond Glint. In Old Print, teams traveled to the Plantin-Moretus Museum, where they had to arrange type pieces following the example of a provided clue, keeping in mind that the type pieces needed to be arranged as a mirror image of their clue. They then had to carry their template to be printed using a printing press and were given the message as their next clue if it printed correctly. In Diamond Glint, teams traveled to the ADC Building in the Antwerp diamond district, where they had to calculate the value of three diamonds based on their carat, color, and clarity and then add the value to the price of an unfinished necklace in order to receive their next clue.
• After the Detour, teams were given a clue, written in Dutch, that required them to "go to a large public place where find the city hall and Silvius Brabo", directing them to the Grote Markt.
• In the series' first Head-to-Head, two teams had to compete against each other in a "Frietrace". After both members of each team donned French fry costumes, each team had to nominate one member to run an obstacle course while pushing a dolly carrying eight bags of fries. A team could immediately check in at the nearby Pit Stop after winning a heat, while the losing team had to wait until the next team arrived. The team that lost the final heat was eliminated.

• Due to limited availability of flights, teams were given tickets on a set of pre-arranged flights to Amsterdam, but they were under no obligation to use them.