The Amazing Race 26

Starting in Castaic, California, racers traveled through Japan, Thailand, Germany, France, Monaco, Namibia, the Netherlands, and Peru before returning to the United States and finishing in Dallas.

[6] This season covered 35,000 miles (56,000 km), five continents, and nine countries, including a first-time visit to Monaco.

On some legs, teams could receive special Date Night rewards, which were inserted randomly in clue envelopes.

[6] The cast included a pair of dating Olympians: short-track speed skater Aly Dudek and bobsledder Steven Langton; as well as New Kids on the Block singer Jonathan Knight.

In June 2015, Jackie Ibarra and Jeff Weldon were revealed as additional contestants on the seventeenth season of Big Brother by host Phil Keoghan.

"[11] Meredith Goodman of The Daily Northwestern was negative towards the blind date format calling it "the tackiest gimmick of all".

"[14] Luke Gelineau of TV Equals wrote "I ended up liking this season a bit more than I thought I was going to.

The Amazing Race 26 began at Castaic Lake outside of Los Angeles .
Jonathan Knight
Steve Langton
The route of The Amazing Race 26 .
After arriving in Tokyo , teams traveled to Kanda Myojin : a Japanese Shinto shrine.
One of the Detour choices in Nagano paid tribute to the 1998 Winter Olympics , where team members had to push their partners around M-Wave 's speed skating track .
This leg focused on the nightlife in Phuket 's Patong Beach .
Maha Chetsadabodin Pavilion Court inside the Wat Ratchanatdaram complex, overlooking Loha Prasat , was the Pit Stop for this leg.
One of the Detour choices in Bavaria required teams to participate in Germany 's world-famous beer festival, Oktoberfest .
The Roadblock in Monaco had team members searching the yachts around Port Hercules for their partners.
While in Namibia , racers built grass huts for the Roadblock with Bushmen .
As one of the choices for the second Detour in Namibia, teams took part in sand skiing through the Namib Desert .
One of the Detour choices in Amsterdam required teams to ride in a hot tub through the canals of Amsterdam .
The Plaza de Armas in Otuzco served as the tenth Pit Stop.
The Roadblock in Huanchaco required racers to take a ride on a caballito de totora .
The Reunion Tower in Dallas was the location for the final Roadblock in The Amazing Race 26 .