My wife and I are planning 12 day trip to Peru for end of August/early September, using miles and points. My 2nd trip to South America (Venezuela in '99) and my wife's first. We have Lonely Planet and Insight guides for Peru, but respect fellow travelers' opinions.

Here's our itinerary as it stands now:

Day 1 (Sat): Arrive LIM 10pm. Taxi or hotel shuttle to Doubletree El Pardo in the Miraflores area.

Day 2 (Sun): Explore Lima/Miraflores. Looking for restaurant rec's and general rec's.

Day 3 (Mon): Fly LIM-CUZ probably 8AM flight. Thoughts on LAN, StarPeru or Taca? We've seen threads about the "gringo tax/fee". Considering weather issues, we hope to fly nonstop, even tho a connecting option may be slightly cheaper. We just want the least amount of hassle to maximize time in CUZ/MP/Sacred Valley. 3 nights at the Tambo del Inka in Urubamba. Considering our expected arrival time of approximately 10AM, we were thinking of hiring a guide to meet at the airport, tour Sacred Valley and then to the hotel.

Day 4 (Tues): MP - train directly from Tambo up, then on return, off at Ollantaytambo, explore there, then taxi back to Tambo.

Day 5 (Wed): Cuzco - possibly hire a guide again to maximize our time. What are the not-to-be-missed sights in Cuzco? We'd also like to allow a few hours for relaxing at the beautiful Tambo.

Day 6 (Thur): Early return flight to LIM. Next stop, Doubletree Paracas. Thoughts on bus or rental car? Also, thoughts on road quality of the Pan Americana highway Lima-Paracas, realistically, how long would this drive take? Any other important facts?

Day 7 (Fri): Islas Ballestas

Day 8 (Sat): Pisco (maybe winery or Pisco-producer tour?), Ica (museums), Nazca lines

Day 9 (Sun): relaxing around the hotel

Day 10 (Mon): drive back to Lima, perhaps stopping at Reserva Nacional de Paracas along the way. Overnight at Doubletree El Pardo

Day 11 (Tue): relax at hotel, maybe some shopping and one last tour around Lima, late flight back to the States

I'd love feedback. I realize we probably should have added another day to the MP/Sacred Valley area and cut out a day in Paracas, however, I've already reserved on points in Paracas, and can't make changes. Perhaps we might be able to pick up another Cuzco day on the front end by flying from LIM to CUZ on Sunday instead of Monday.