We spent much more time in all locations than most who visit Peru: 3 nights Lima (2 on front end, 1 on back end), 5 nights in Sacred Valley at Belmond Hotel Rio Sagrado, 2 nights at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, 2 nights in Cusco at Inkaterra La Casona, and 7 nights on the Amazon via Iquitos aboard M/V Aria.

Most people combine Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, and Cusco in the interests of budget and/or time. We didn’t. And we loved the ability to explore more at our own leisurely pace and also to have plenty of time to take a day here and there to just chill out, read, do spa or special activities like pisco tastings, etc. We were able to smell the roses, so to speak.

I definitely am glad we spent 4 nights in the Sacred Valley. The 5th might have been unnecessary for us but not necessary for you. We decided to stay so long there partly because it was the least expensive of all our hotels ($275 for a junior suite at the time), so it seemed a smart place to relax more. And we did. It was a beautiful spot for us to just take a lazy day off from touring. It was also fun to explore and have a nice lunch in the smaller quaint towns that most don’t bother with in the Valley. Much less touristy for us, and we loved that.

But we also were ecstatic about having our 2 nights specific to Machu Picchu—which allowed us far more time to enjoy that site...and the Huaynapicchu hike and surrounding vistas, too. It never felt rushed. We got to really see Machu Picchu and felt we really for it experience it.

And we were very pleased we also had 2 nights and a proper full day to enjoy Cusco. We didn’t need much more than that. That being said, our best meal in Peru was La Cena del Oro at Cusco’s famous MAP Cafe. That dinner was even more amazing than our spectacular dinners at Central and Astrid y Gaston in Lima!

Most people use a base hotel in Cusco to explore Cusco and the Sacred Valley or the reverse. And then they either quickly visit Machu Picchu or add a night near Machu Picchu as this time and/or budget allow. I loved having all 3.

Lima was a throwaway for us...except for the dining. We loved having the chance to dine at the top restaurants there. Otherwise, it’s just a big South American city for us.

The Amazon was amazing. But we’d only recommend the 3-4 night cruise as opposed to the 7 nights we did—as they repeated most of the activities and excursions from the first 3 days in the final 3 days, anyway. We had to implore them to allow the 7 night passengers (there were just a handful of us) to do new and different activities and excursions so we weren’t simply repeating everything. If an Amazon cruise isn’t for you, there also are properties near Iquitos up north and also cities down south off tributaries of the Amazon that still offer a wonderful Amazon taste.