Nasca lines or Arequipa?
 

We're trying to decide what to do in the last 3 days we have left of our trip to Peru. We would be leaving from our last destination, Cusco. We need to end up in Lima since our flight home leaves from there so we'd like to at least have the last day there. We're undecided if to fly from Cusco to Arequipa and spend that day we get there and the next visit Colca Canyon OR just fly back to Lima, rent a car and drive down to Nasca to fly over the nasca lines hopefully that same day. Any recommendations? We're a group of six. Thanks!

For me the Nazca lines were a disappointment although the nearby María Reiche museum is interesting.

Colca Canyon is ok but frankly you don't get much out of a daytrip there.

I'd recommend a couple of days in Arequipa. It's a fascinating city, quite unlike any other in Peru, and the food is great (try the "rocoto relleno", stuffed rocoto pepper).

Also if your itin didn't already include some time in Lima, you should spend a day or two there seeing the colonial center, gorging yourselves on seafood for lunch, etc. Peruvian cuisine is truly one of the world's great ones and not to be missed.

Enjoy!

We really enjoyed Arequipa and Colca Canyon. Our Colca Canyon trip was overnight; it would have been a very long day to have driven all the way there and back. We did not make it to the Nasca Lines, so I cannot compare.

Arequipa
 

Once you fly over the Nazca Lines, there's not much else to do in that region. Arequipa, however, is an interesting enough city to spend a few days in, even if you don't go to Colca Canyon. And people do take day trips to the Canyon, but I wouldn't. It's a long haul and a lot of driving/riding. Here's a review of the best hotel in Arequipa if you decide to go.

There's also a Sonesta with an awesome location right on the square and it'll do, but it's pretty disappointing apart from the view of the church from the dining/drinking balcony.

My parents went on a whirldwind South America tour recently and their tour had a flight over the Nasca Lines. It was on a Cesna turboprop. This was their flight experience.