Hi There,
My wife and I will be in Peru for 12 nights next July and I am trying to book flights with miles. As of now we would like to go to:

Amazon (3 nights)
Machu Picchu (maybe the hike)
Lake Titicaca (2 nights)

Are there other "must do's"?

As of now, we are planning on flying into Puerto Maldonado with miles, paying for a one way flight to Cuzco, take the bus to Puno, and then fly out of Juliaca back home. I'm trying to save money by using miles to go into Puerto and out of Juliaca. Is this a good idea? Should we spend time in Lima?

The down side is a lot of travel on the beginning and end of the trip. Would we be better off paying for internal flights and leaving the itinerary flexible? Any advice on the ordering of things?

Thanks!

Add Arequipa/Colca Canyon amazing

www.traficoperu.com stay flexible with your flights

www.secondhomeperu.com great in Lima nice for 2 days

Lima Amazon/PM Cusco/MP Titicaca Arequipa/Colca

Take acetazolamida to prevent altitude illness.

Just home from 3 weeks in South America doing Inca trail, Buenos Aires and Rio De Janeiro. We chose not to spend any time in Lima and don't regret that decision. We did spend one night in Ollantaytambo to help adjust to the altitude and then 2 nights in Cusco, which is a fascinating city, before the 4day/3 night Inca trail which was the highlight of our holiday and justifiably a 'must-do' in Peru. We did 10 flights in 3 weeks and didn't have any problems. I think your trip sounds fine.

Thanks for the suggestions. Any idea on average interPeru flight prices? My dates aren't available yet and some examples that I've checked are at about $120 each way. I'll look into Arequipa/Colca, How many days should we allot for that part? Any accommodation recommendations?

Do you think that starting in Arequipa and working our way up to Cuzco would be a better itinerary and then ending in Puerto Maldonado? I initially wanted to do it that way but then realized that the World Cup final is on July 11 and we would be in the Amazons and couldn't watch. I'm not the biggest soccer fan but I think it could be fun to watch it, especially if there are travelers from different parts of the world around, maybe Cuzco.

I think most people take the two days Colca Canyon guided tour. If you also want to have one day to explore parts of Arequipa city itself then I'd say you should allocate at least 3 whole days for Arequipa & Colca.