For Molly, the hardest part was keeping all that a secret from close friends and family, until the show’s line-up was made public last week.
And that lack of a smartphone, when taking part in the competition, meant a lot of confusion for friends back home in Maghera, County Londonderry who suddenly were receiving no replies to their texts.
“Two months without a phone at my age is like you’ve fallen off the face of the earth and disappeared,” she said.
“When you get back you can’t say what you’ve been doing, I mean lying to your parish priest is quite difficult.”
On this year’s show five intrepid teams embark on the journey through eight countries – Italy, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and finally Mongolia.
For Molly’s father, Andrew, the show has fulfilled a boyhood dream.
“I had always wanted to backpack when I was younger, but to be honest I didn’t have the money, and then life happens and you move on.
“I had always been a huge fan of the show, and Molly and I put in the application as a bit of a joke, and it just snowballed from there.”