Competitours 2015 - Follow Team Awesome Duo

Competitours Season 2015 is here and with us catching our flight to Brussels in a few hours, I wanted to set the stage for what’s going to be happening and how you can follow Sam and I as we race through Europe.

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For this trip I wanted to do something different. Instead of taking photos and writing posts about the experience, what better way to show you what it’s like to be on a Competitours “tour” than to show you through episodes just like the real Amazing Race.

Read more about Competitours

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Follow us LIVE!

As a tribute to The Amazing Race, Sam and I will be doing daily short videos uploaded to the Going Awesome Places YouTube channel. Who knows what footage I’ll be able to capture along the way but you’ll definitely be in for a surprise are we go from day to day.

Follow the #TeamAwesomeDuo and #Competitours2015 hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to see all the live updates too!

The Lead Up

In the month leading up to Season 2015 of the tour, we were assigned three challenges which were each scored either by judges or people’s choice.

Pre Challenge #1: Introducing Team Awesome Duo

We were tasked to create 30 second video introducing our name. Sam came up of the idea of doing something totally spontaneous and this is what we came up with.

CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE

10 Reasons Why You Should Sign Up For Competitours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6P8V23rbL0

We were the unanimous winner for People’s Choice but ended up not being in the top 3 for the judge’s pick for “Best Name” and “Best Video”. 10 points out of the possible 30.

Pre Challenge #2: Introducing Our Mascot

For our second challenge, we had to pick a mascot. This one was a tough one for awhile as we through out random ideas like a Minion, banana, Energizer Bunny, Domo, and Phil Keoghan. In the end, while it felt a little bait to use a well-known mascot for the actual Amazing Race, we felt that it was our true superfan-ness that made the selection of the travelling gnome a lot of sense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAVPfAkgXMw

For this challenge we won the judge’s points but didn’t get any People’s Choice points.

Pre Challenge #3: Starting Location

The last challenge was the guessing of our start location. What made this challenge interesting was that there was a risk/reward option for scoring.

Option 1: 25 pts if you are in top 3, but lose 15 pts if you are not in top 3
Option 2: 10 its if you are in top 3, no point deduction if you are not in top 3

We decided to take it safe and go with Option 2 and guessed Antwerp as our starting spot. Luckily we were in the top 3 and secured 10 points.

Standings

Here are the final standings:

Where We Travelled To

Before I left, my good buddy, Jia got me this very recognizable mat as a send off. If only Phil was actually going to greet us at the mat but I’ll settle for Steve who’s running the show for Competitours :)

Let the Amazing Race begin!

Post Trip Debrief

This crazy jaunt around Europe was a trip of a lifetime and despite not winning the cash prize, I’ll forever remember this as the time I did The Amazing Race :) Find the full rundown of the experience by heading over to the 10 reasons why you should sign up for Competitours next year.

For more background information about Competitours, just head over to my original post where I introduce the idea of an Amazing Race for normal people.

Travel Resources For Your Next Trip

If you’re in the process of planning your trip and putting together your itinerary, these are genuinely the best resources that the Going Awesome Places team stands by 100%.

Credit cards: Don’t get burned by hidden fees on top of terrible exchange rates. When we travel now, we use the Wise Card. Simply load it with the currency you need before you go and use it as a regular VISA or their digital wallet card. Use their free app to track how much you have and top up when you need to.

Flights: Of all the booking search engines, Skyscanner is the most helpful and easy to use thanks to their Everywhere feature. Kayak is also another that’s we will often check as well.

Car Rental: If you’re looking to save money, these car rental coupon codes will be a true game-changer. Otherwise, DiscoverCars and RentalCars are great places to start.

Rideshare: For new Lyft users, use code WILLIAM4825 to get 50% off your first 2 rides (max $10 USD per ride). Offer valid for 14 days after you take your first ride. For new Uber users, use code psuqbjg4d7rn for the same offer except it’s valid for 30 days.

Airport Parking: You’ll need a spot to leave your car at the airport so why not book a spot at a discount. Use code AWESOME7 to get at least $5 off at Airport Parking Reservations or Park Sleep Fly packages.

eSIM: Lately, we’ve really loved using eSIMs. We’ve tested several over the years and we have access to a few special promotions.

AmigoSIM – Use GOINGAWESOMEPLACES to save 25% off. Code is re-useable.
Gigsky – Use TANG149 to get $3 USD when you sign up, then use code GOINGAWESOME to save 20% on all eSIM orders.
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Airalo – Use referral code WILLIA9500 to get $3 USD credit on your first purchase.
Ubigi – AWESOME10 to save 10% on your first order.

Wifi Hotspot: We’ve been a huge fan of wifi hotspot devices such as PokeFi (use code GAP24300) because their rates are are hard to beat and it works globally. Solis is another that we recommend. Pros are that you can share the wifi with your whole group but cons are that you have to invest in a device and you have to charge it every night.

Hotels: Our go-to is Booking.com because they have the best inventory of properties including hotels and B&Bs plus they have their Genius tier discounts. Expedia is also worth using especially with their One Key rewards program which is basically like cash. The exception is Asia where Agoda always has the best prices. Always do a quick check on TripAdvisor as well.

Vacation Rentals: Your first instinct will be to check Airbnb but we always recommend checking VRBO as well if you’re looking for a vacation rental (now eligible for One Key).

Tours and Activities: When planning our trips, we always check both Viator and GetYourGuide to at least see what’s out there in the destination that we’re going to. They often have different offerings and prices so check both.

Travel Insurance: Learn how to buy the best travel insurance for you. This isn’t something you want to travel without.

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If you need more help planning your trip, make sure to check out our Travel Toolbox where we highlight all of the gear, resources, and tools we use when traveling.