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race around the world is back, and this time it’s the celebrities who are taking part in one of the most challenging adventures on TV, as they compete to be the first one to reach the finish line. Colombia,
The teams left in the first episode Mexican on the island of Isla Mujeres as they set out on a 5,900 km race across Central America in five weeks.
Taking part in this year’s race, broadcaster and author Anita Rani is competing with her father Bal dairy girls Actor Dylan Llewellyn has brought along his mother Jackie.
The only duo competing this year is DJ Tyler West and actor and singer Molly Rainford, while sibling duo broadcaster Roman Kemp and his singer-songwriter sister Harlemoon complete the series’ line-up.
Couples must travel through towns, cities, and rural areas with limited budgets and resources in the backpack, and decide what transportation they will use, which route they will take, where they will sleep, and how much they will spend.
They will pass through five checkpoints. Here’s a summary of the locations the teams are navigating during the epic continental journey.
start
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
The race starts on the sacred Maya island of Isla Mujeres. Translated to “Island of Women”, this piece of limestone was a pilgrimage site for Ixhel, goddess of the moon and fertility. This tiny island is only 7km long and barely 800m at its widest point, yet the tiny slice is packed with beach bars, charming boutique hotels and ample opportunities for snorkelling and diving in the crystal clear waters teeming with marine life.
Elsewhere, visitors to the island are able to explore Mayan culture by visiting ancient ruins and exploring submerged cenote waters. Once a pirate haven, the island also has plenty of local legends to discover. At this easternmost point of Mexico, Isla Mujeres is only a short boat ride from Cancún, one of Mexico’s most expensive tourist destinations, yet the island offers a slower pace of life away from the crowds.
checkpoint one
Flores, Petén, Guatemala
In the first leg, teams took different routes to the first checkpoint, visiting the resort-lined tourist destination of Cancún, Merida, the cultural capital of Yucatán, Campeche, one of Mexico’s most abundant chili-growing regions, and traveled across the border to Belize and examined some Mayan Lamanai ruins.
The pair traveled more than 1,100 km south of Guatemala, trying to reach a small island called Flores in Lake Petén Itzá. This colorful city rising from the water is a maze of cobblestone streets and painted houses built on the last bastion of the Maya Empire. Travelers often come and stay in Flores while exploring the nearby Maya ruins hidden amidst the largest tropical forest in Central America. One of the most important Maya archaeological sites here is the Tikal ruins, a ceremonial complex of temples, palaces, and limestone public squares.
checkpoint two
El Zonte, El Salvador
For this stage, the racers had to travel 940 km south to El Zonte in El Salvador after passing through Maya agricultural lands including Punta de Chimino in Guatemala, cacao farms in Honduras and Hopkins Beach in Belize.
After a recent turbulent history, pristine beaches in El Salvador have begun to attract visitors. El Zonte is beloved by surfers as well as those who use cryptocurrency, as the city was an early adopter of it as a form of payment, earning it the nickname “Bitcoin Beach”. The small coastal community is lined with private beach houses, hotels and hostels, which are often booked by surfers checking out the waves at La Punta that sometimes barrel 10 feet high.,
The colorful landscape is also home to two beaches with volcanic black sand, backed by a series of sea caves that are often used for impromptu Instagram photo shoots. Visitors to El Zonte describe the town as a relaxing haven run by friendly locals, with plenty to do from coffee and cocoa tours to the seasonal release of baby sea turtles into the water.
checkpoint three
Angeles Valley, Honduras
After traveling through El Salvador, stopping at places of natural beauty such as the Conchagua Volcano and the historic city of Suchitoto, the teams arrived in Honduras, the most mountainous country in Central America. Marking the halfway point of the race, the pairs were asked to head to Valle de Ángeles, a former 16th-century mining town nestled in the pine forests of the Honduran highlands.
The town is frequented by people who want to visit the alpine terrain, a 45-minute drive from the capital of Tegucigalpa. It is a popular tourist destination for those looking for colonial architecture in Honduras, with traditional houses, cafes and restaurants located along cobbled streets. The city is also home to abundant studios of artists producing paintings, wood carvings and sculptures, whose creative energy is reflected in the buildings’ colorful facades and frescoes.
outpost four
Bocas del Toro, Panama
After being unable to complete filming in Nicaragua, teams were flown to the Costa Rican city of Liberia to continue the race to the fourth checkpoint. Before arriving, teams visited places such as the National Park of Tortuguero, the sustainable destination of El Castillo, and the Costa Rican capital of San José. After a 700 km journey across north-west Panama, the racers reached Bocas del Toro, an archipelago of islands in the Caribbean Sea known for its pristine beaches, diverse reefs and vibrant rainforests.
Once a remote outpost, this modest banana port is now a thriving island community that blends indigenous and African-Caribbean cultures. You may hear people speaking a dialect specific to the island: “Guari-Guari”, a mixture of French, Spanish and English. Culture can also be explored through food, such as fresh seafood with coconuts and ripe bananas, i.e. cakes and bon bread, or visit indigenous communities such as the Ngabe-Bugle, who offer tourists experiences of how cocoa plays an important role in their spirituality.
Divided into nine islands, which can be hopped between via water taxi, many people travel to Bocas del Toro for snorkelling and reef diving, as well as surfers catching waves at the famous break. On the main island of Isla Colón, the streets are lined with colorful buildings and waterfront residences, it also attracts tourists with its luxury hotels, hostels, activities and nightlife. People interested in marine life are often drawn to neighboring Isla Bastimentos, where Panama’s first marine park, Bastimento National Marine Park, is located.
Ending
Peninsula From La Guajira, Colombia
To become Race Across the World champions, teams must reach the northernmost point of the South American continent, Peninsula de la Guajira, Colombia. After traveling 5,900 km from Central America, teams will arrive in this large, expansive area of dry desert. Inhabited by the indigenous Wayuu people, the peninsula is a remote coastal destination that is often overlooked in favor of more popular locations along the Colombian Caribbean coast. Many towns and villages located along the water – such as Riohacha and Cabo de la Vela – attract tourists, some of whom may be on their way to reach the mainland at Punta Gallinas, the northernmost point where the dunes meet the sea. Further inland, you’ll find the Macuira National Natural Park, made up of tropical dry forests and high-altitude cloud forests sitting side by side with vast plains of sand.
Celebrity Race Across the World airs Thursdays at 8pm on iPlayer and BBC One.
Read more: Race Across the World Locations – Where was the 2025 series filmed?