The fourth series of Race Across the World began airing on 10 April 2024. Each two-person team was required to complete the route from Japan to Indonesia without using air travel, and was given a budget equal to the cost of the air fare. Contestants were provided with only a map, travel guide and GPS tracker.
On 27 March 2024, the BBC announced that the fourth series of Race Across the World would begin airing on 10 April. The five pairs of competitors are Brydie and Sharon, Alfie and Owen, Stephen and Viv, Eugenie and Isabel, and Betty and James.
Overview The fourth series of Race Across the World was a race over that took place entirely in Eastern Asia, commencing in Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido in Japan and finishing on the island of Gili Meno off Lombok in the Indonesian archipelago of Lesser Sunda. Although the contestants were not allowed to fly in the race, in this series, contestants were flown from Korea to Vietnam, skipping over China. The production company said that China was omitted during the planning stage due to "time constraints and difficulties in travel in the aftermath of the global pandemic", so a flight was organised from Seoul to Hanoi.
The race had seven checkpoints with enforced rest periods, with contestants only finding out the next destination on departure from a checkpoint. The first team to arrive at the final checkpoint won £20,000.
Teams were given a budget of £1,390 per person – the equivalent air fare for travelling the race route. Contestants were not permitted to subsidise their budgets, but short-term opportunities allowed them to work for money or bed and board. Contestants were not given access to telephones or internet.
Contestants Name Relationship Occupation Age From Ref. Sharon BaileyMother and daughter Cleaner 52Kent Brydie Bailey Snowboarding instructor 25 EugenieMother and daughter Teacher 61 Barking Isabel Trainee clinical scientist 25 Birmingham Alfie WattsLifelong friends Football referee 20St Albans Owen Wood Trainee pilot 20 Stephen ReddingHusband and wife Retired 61Rutland Viv Redding Retired 65 James MukherjeeBrother and sister Sales Consultant 21 Gargrave Betty Mukherjee Social Media and Events Manager 25 Silsden
Results summary Colour key: – Team withdrawn – Team eliminated – Series winners
TeamsPosition (by leg)12345678Alfie & Owen2nd2nd1st4th3rd1st1stWinnersEugenie & Isabel1st1st2nd2nd4th3rd2nd2ndBetty & James3rd3rd3rd3rd1st4th3rd3rdStephen & Viv4th4th4th1st2nd2nd4th4thBrydie & Sharon5th5th5th
Route The checkpoints in the fourth series were: Leg From To1Sapporo TV TowerSapporo, JapanNara HotelNara, Japan2Nara HotelNara, JapanDominiclava SokchoSokcho, South Korea3Noi Bai International AirportHanoi, VietnamSokha HotelPhnom Penh, Cambodia4Sokha HotelPhnom Penh, CambodiaHotel RiverviewMae Sariang, Thailand5Hotel RiverviewMae Sariang, ThailandPhi Phi The Beach ResortKoh Phi Phi, Thailand6Phi Phi The Beach ResortKoh Phi Phi, ThailandPadi EcolodgeBukittinggi, Indonesia7Padi EcolodgeBukittinggi, IndonesiaThe Orient JakartaJakarta, Indonesia8The Orient JakartaJakarta, IndonesiaSeri ResortGili Meno, Indonesia
Race summary Mode of transportation Rail Ship Bus/coach Taxi Road vehicle Self-drive vehicle (paid) RVActivity Working for money and/or bed and board Excursion that cost time and/or money
Leg 1: Sapporo, Japan → Nara, Japan
Having checked in at the Gokoku shrine the race started in earnest at 2 pm from Odori Park in the city of Sapporo on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, with the first leg finishing south in the old imperial capital, Nara, on the main island of Honshu.
In an added twist to the usual rules, the teams were not permitted to use any Shinkansen (bullet trains) whilst in Japan.
Three teams took a train to the nearby port of Tomakomai. Eugenie & Isabel managed to catch an overnight ferry across the Tsugaru Strait to Sendai, whilst both Brydie & Sharon and Betty & James took the last ferry of the night to Hachinohe. The next day, Brydie & Sharon headed towards Tōnō en route to Tokyo, while Betty & James caught a train to Sendai, on the east coast of Honshu. Already in Sendai, Eugenie & Isabel decided to avoid Tokyo, the only team to do so, fearing the capital to be very expensive, and so took a bus to Niigata on the west coast. Betty & James took an excursion to Matsushima Bay before heading to Tokyo to work cleaning rickshaws.
Alfie & Owen were the first pair to reach the capital having arrived by bus where they witnessed a baby crying contest at the Naki Sumo festival before continuing to Mount Fuji by bus. There, on day 4, they undertook work cleaning at the campsite they had pitched their tents at. Having lost their map and stranded in the countryside, the pair backtracked to Tokyo before heading to Kyoto the next morning by bus.
Meanwhile Stephen & Viv visited an Onsen in Aomori before heading to Tokyo and onward to a job harvesting wasabi at a farm in Hotaka in exchange for bed and board. One of the farmers then dropped the pair at Matsumoto station where the pair caught a train to Kashihara, just south of Nara. In Tokyo, Brydie & Sharon took a train to Toba to wait on tables at a restaurant run by the local Ama women, whilst Betty & James proceeded directly to Osaka.
Eugenie & Isabel took a ferry to the small island of Sado in the Sea of Japan to visit the Myosenji Buddhist temple. Once back on Honshu they caught a bus to Kanazawa and then a train to Nara. Once the teams had arrived in Nara on day 5, they had to find their way to the Gango-ji temple before receiving instructions to the checkpoint which was at the Nara hotel. Finding themselves in a foot race with Alfie & Owen, Eugenie & Isabel beat them by a matter of minutes.
OrderTeamsRouteHours behind leadersMoney left1Eugenie & IsabelSapporo → Tomakomai → Sendai → Niigata → Sado Island → Niigata → Kanazawa → Nara valign="top" 68%2Alfie & OwenSapporo → Aomori → Tokyo → Mount Fuji → Tokyo → Kyoto → Nara 2 minutes 79%3Betty & JamesSapporo → Tomakomai → Hachinohe → Sendai → Matsushima Bay → Tokyo → Osaka → Nara 1 hour 26 minutes 82%4Stephen & VivSapporo → → Aomori → Tokyo → Hotaka → Matsumoto → Kashihara → Nara 2 hours 31 minutes 79%5Brydie & SharonSapporo → Tomakomai → Hachinohe → Tōno → Tokyo → Toba → Osaka → Nara 4 hours 14 minutes 82%
Leg 2: Nara, Japan → Sokcho, South Korea
The race restarted on day 7 to Sokcho in South Korea, a country which could only be reached by taking a ferry across the Korea Strait, from Hakata on the Japanese island of Kyushu to the port city of Busan.
Betty & James were the only team to cross onto the island of Shikoku (via the Great Naruto Bridge), where they helped trim some Japanese Acers to be used as garnish on Japanese food. They then caught a bus onward to Tokushima station where they just missed the only train of the day to Okayama delaying them for twenty-four hours. Brydie & Sharon had gone directly to Okayama to work aboard a fishing boat on the Seto Inland Sea but were also stranded for a day due to the lack of trains.
Alfie & Owen made their way to Kobe where the latter wanted to sample the famous Kobe beef despite Alfie’s concerns about the impact it would have on their budget. Much to Alfie’s relief and joy, the proprietor of the restaurant comped the meal. Afterwards the pair checked into a capsule hotel for the night. The next day they were repeatedly advised by the locals that reservations onward to Hakata should be made online. Stymied without internet access, a good samaritan eventually made the reservations on their behalf.
Stephen & Viv headed to northern Kansai in search of work repairing a thatched roof in exchange for bed and board. However, poor weather meant they were unable to repay their hosts hospitality due to safety concerns, so they insisted on cleaning the shrine instead. Afterwards the pair backtracked to Osaka and caught an overnight bus to Hiroshima. Already in Hiroshima, in search of a job opportunity as they had depleted almost a third of their entire race budget, were Eugenie & Isabel. There they paid their respects at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park after which they did a one hour shift in an Okonomiyaki restaurant, but instead of cooking, the duo found themselves washing dishes to due their late arrival.
On day 8, Alfie & Owen found themselves on the same ferry crossing as Eugenie & Isabel. On their arrival at the Hakata ferry port, Stephen & Viv were disappointed to learn that they had missed the only two daily crossings and would now have to wait until the next day, when they were caught up by both Brydie & Sharon and Betty & James.
On arrival in South Korea, Alfie & Owen immediately commenced traversing up the Korean peninsula by buses hugging the eastern seaboard, whereas Eugenie & Isabel replenished funds by working at the Jagalchi Fish Market alongside the Ajummas (old lady vendors). When the other three teams finally made it to Busan, Betty & James caught the last bus to Seoul but Brydie & Sharon opted to spend a night in the city before making their way to Daejeon the next day to work collecting chestnuts. Stephen & Viv meanwhile headed across the peninsula to Jeonju Hanok Village to work a shift dishwashing at a restaurant that specialised in Bibimbap.
On day 11 Eugenie & Isabel finally headed to Sokcho on a direct bus service, whilst Alfie & Owen were killing time by visiting Haesindang Park in Samcheok. In Sokcho the teams were advised to take a taxi to the Seokbong Ceramics Museum of Art. From there it was onto the Cheongchojeong and finally to the checkpoint. Alfie & Owen opted to walk in a bid to conserve funds and found themselves finishing four hours behind Eugenie & Isabel. When the other three teams finally arrived the overall positions had not changed, however the time differential between first and last place had grown to over thirty hours.
OrderTeamsRouteHours behind leadersMoney left1Eugenie & IsabelNara → Kyoto → Hiroshima → Hakata → Busan → Sokcho valign="top" 54%2Alfie & OwenNara → Kobe → Hakata → Busan → Pohang → Samcheok → Sokcho 4 hours 28 minutes 60%3Betty & JamesNara → Shikoku → Tokushima → Okayama → Hakata → Busan → Seoul → Sokcho 18 hours 32 minutes 49%4Stephen & VivNara → Kansai → Osaka → Hiroshima → Hakata → Busan → Jeonju → Sokcho 25 hours 51 minutes 62%5Brydie & SharonNara → Okayama → Hakata → Busan → Daejeon → Sokcho 30 hours 23 minutes 58%
Leg 3: Hanoi, Vietnam → Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The race restarted on days 14 and 15 when the teams were transferred by air to Hanoi in Vietnam. It was revealed that the checkpoint was in Phnom Penh, capital city of Cambodia, to the south, and that the team finishing last on this leg would be eliminated.
All of the teams decided to head south towards Da Nang. Three teams aimed for Ho Chi Minh City whilst the other two opted for the Lệ Thanh – Ou Ya Dav border crossing near Pleiku in the central highlands.
First to leave, having lost their map and still in need of replenishing their budget, Eugenie & Isabel decided to initially make for Ninh Binh by bus to work washing motorcycles. Not soon after Alfie & Owen started their journey to Ho Chi Minh City by catching an overnight train to Da Nang. The next day both Betty & James and Stephen & Viv also headed there by the cheaper but somewhat ironically, faster bus. In Da Nang, Betty & James caught up to Eugenie & Isabel when both teams found themselves at the same bus station headed to Pleiku. In Pleiku both pairs crossed the border to Banlung on the same bus service. Being the first day of Pchum Ben, onward transport options were limited and the two teams parted ways. Betty & James' attempt at earning money at a rubber plantation in a small village were scuppered by torrential rainfall and they were stranded there waiting for the weather to clear.