Photo: Dmitry Molchanov/Shutterstock

Competitours: The Amazing Race, Minus the Cameras

Travel
by Eva Holland Feb 11, 2009

So, admit it. At some point, you’ve been sitting on the couch at night, watching the contestants on ‘The Amazing Race’ tearing around the world, and you’ve thought:

Man, how cool would that be?

Then one of the contestants has gotten stressed, or tired, and has broken down. Their face scrunches up; the tears start to fall — and the camera zooms in for the kill. The next day, all the gossip blogs run close-ups of the unlucky racer’s un-photogenic misery.

And you think: Nah…

Inevitable trials and frustrations are part of what makes travel so fulfilling; the challenge is commensurate with the reward, right? — but for my part, I could do without the reality TV humiliation. Which is where Competitours comes in.

Competitours is a travel competition pitting 17 adventurous twosomes against each other in a two week race around Europe. Teams cover 5 countries in 14 days, completing a quirky array of daily challenges each designed to highlight that day’s locale.

The requirements? Nope, you don’t have to be especially good-looking: the rule is, You Pay, You Play. There’s a fee to enter — paid after the race, incidentally — which includes your airfare, accommodation and rail pass.

Oh, and the prize? A package designed for a serious travel spree: 40 nights at Starwood hotels, 4 international flights, and more than six grand in spending money.

That sounds worth racing around Europe for, to me.

Intrigued? Check out Competitours for more info. Oh, and if you decide to give it a shot, be sure to let us know how it goes!

We might even blog about you and your adventure — but no public humiliation. We promise.

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