| Native Name: | |
| Genre: | Reality competition |
| Creator: | Elise Doganieri Bertram van Munster |
| Presenter: | Dustin Nguyen (2012) Huy Khánh (2013–2014, 2016) Phan Anh (2015) Song Luân (2019) Hương Giang (2019) |
| Theme Music Composer: | John M. Keane |
| Country: | Vietnam |
| Language: | Vietnamese |
| Company: | BHD |
| Network: | VTV3, VTV6 |
The Amazing Race Vietnam: Cuộc đua kỳ thú is a Vietnamese reality competition show based on the American series The Amazing Race. Following the premise of other versions in the Amazing Race franchise, the show follows teams of two as they race across Vietnam and around the world. Each season is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel by air, boat, car, taxi, and other modes of transport. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs for being the last to arrive at designated Pit Stops. The first team to arrive at the Finish Line wins a grand prize of 300,000,000₫.
The show premiered on May 18, 2012, and aired regularly during Friday primetime on VTV3. For the first season, Dustin Nguyen hosted, executive-produced and directed the show. The second season was announced to be a "celebrity season" with Huy Khánh, who served as host until the fifth season with the exception of the fourth season when Phan Anh served as host, chosen to replace Dustin Nguyen.[1] [2] Since Season 2, the show has primarily featured celebrity contestants.
In 2019, the show returned after a three-year hiatus with Song Luân as the host.
The Amazing Race Vietnam is a reality television competition between teams of two in a race around Vietnam. Each season is divided into a number of legs wherein teams travel and complete various tasks to obtain clues to help them progress to a Pit Stop where they are given a chance to rest and recover before starting the next leg. The first team to arrive at a Pit Stop is often awarded a prize while the last team is normally eliminated (except in non-elimination legs). The final leg is usually run by the last three remaining teams, and the first to arrive at the final destination wins 300,000,000₫.
Each team is composed of two individuals who have some type of relationship to each other.
Route Markers are orange and light green flags that mark the places where teams must go. Most Route Markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes, but some may mark the place where the teams must go in order to complete tasks, or may be used to line a course that the teams must follow.
Clues are found throughout the legs in sealed envelopes, normally inside clue boxes. They give teams the information they need and tasks they need to do in order for them to progress through the legs.
Teams may encounter the following that may affect their position during the legs:
At the beginning of each leg, teams receive an allowance of cash to cover expenses.
Teams then have to follow clues and Route Markers that will lead them to the various destinations and tasks they will face. Modes of travel between these destinations include commercial and chartered airplanes, boats, trains, taxis, buses, and rented vehicles provided by the show, or the teams may simply travel by foot. Each leg ends with a Pit Stop (Về đích) where teams are able to rest and where teams that arrive last are progressively eliminated from until only three remain.
This is awarded to the winners of the first leg of the season and allows that team to skip any task they want. In Season 6, the Express Pass, in addition to allowing a team to skip a task, also gave them the power to save a team from elimination, much like the Salvage Pass.
A non-elimination leg is when the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop is not eliminated and is allowed to continue racing. The team that is saved from elimination is typically given a penalty for the next leg.
During Season 5, the Speed Bump was incorporated as a new non-elimination penalty. The Speed Bump is a task that only the team that was saved from elimination on the previous leg had to complete before continuing to race.
Most of the rules and penalties are adopted from the American edition; but in some cases, this version has been seen to have a unique set of additional rules.
| Season | Broadcast | Winners | Teams | Host | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Episodes | ||||
| 1 | May 18, 2012 - August 10, 2012 | 13 | Saettie Baggio & Thành Phúc | 10 | Dustin Nguyen |
| 2 | July 26, 2013 - October 18, 2013 | 12 | 9 | Huy Khánh | |
| 3 | June 21, 2014 - August 31, 2014 | 22 | |||
| 4 | July 17, 2015 - September 25, 2015 | 11 | 8 | Phan Anh | |
| 5 | March 31, 2016 - June 9, 2016 | 10 | Huy Khánh | ||
| 6 | July 6, 2019 - September 7, 2019 | 10 | Song Luân Hương Giang | ||
, The Amazing Race Vietnam has visited 4 municipalities and 30 provinces in Vietnam, in addition to 6 foreign countries in 2 continents.
| Rank | Province | Season visited | Pit Stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ho Chi Minh City | 6 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) | 8 |
| 2 | Hanoi | 4 (1, 2, 3, 4) | 4 |
| Khánh Hòa | 4 (1, 2, 3, 4) | 4 | |
| 4 | Da Nang | 3 (1, 2, 4) | 3 |
| Đồng Nai | 3 (1, 2, 5) | 0 | |
| Lâm Đồng | 3 (1, 4, 6) | 3 | |
| Quảng Nam | 3 (1, 2, 4) | 1 | |
| Quảng Ninh | 3 (3, 4, 6) | 3 | |
| Thừa Thiên Huế | 3 (1, 3, 5) | 3 | |
| 10 | Bình Thuận | 2 (1, 2) | 2 |
| Hà Giang | 2 (4, 6) | 3 | |
| Kiên Giang | 2 (1, 6) | 1 | |
| Lào Cai | 2 (2, 5) | 2 | |
| Nghệ An | 2 (3, 4) | 2 | |
| Phú Yên | 2 (5, 6) | 2 | |
| Quảng Bình | 2 (2, 6) | 3 | |
| 15 | Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu | 1 (5) | 2 |
| Bình Dương | 1 (1) | 0 | |
| Cà Mau | 1 (2) | 1 | |
| Cao Bằng | 1 (4) | 1 | |
| Đắk Lắk | 1 (2) | 0 | |
| Đắk Nông | 1 (2) | 1 | |
| Điện Biên | 1 (3) | 1 | |
| Đồng Tháp | 1 (3) | 1 | |
| Hà Nam | 1 (5) | 0 | |
| Hai Phong | 1 (2) | 1 | |
| Hòa Bình | 1 (1) | 1 | |
| Kon Tum | 1 (6) | 1 | |
| Nam Định | 1 (5) | 1 | |
| Ninh Bình | 1 (1) | 2 | |
| Ninh Thuận | 1 (3) | 1 | |
| Quảng Ngãi | 1 (4) | 1 | |
| Tây Ninh | 1 (4) | 0 | |
| Yên Bái | 1 (5) | 2 | |
| Rank | Country | Continent | Season visited | Pit Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | Oceania | 1 (5) | 1 |
| China | Asia | 1 (6) | 0 | |
| Laos | Asia | 1 (4) | 1 | |
| North Korea | Asia | 1 (6) | 1 | |
| Singapore | Asia | 1 (2) | 1 | |
| South Korea | Asia | 1 (3) | 2 |