I, too, took a trip with GAP Adventures prior to DH and kids. It was wonderful. Since it's a Canadian company, there were few Americans in the group and the groups are small. There was a mix of Canadians, Europeans, and a few Aussies. GAP also does family type trips or their Basic trips where they book everything for you, but you're not with a group. I like them b/c they’re all about sustainable tourism. They use hotels that are locally run so your dollars stay in country. They also pay decent wages to the porters and tour guides, in comparison to other tour companies.

We did the hike to Machu Picchu (it's not hard if you're an outdoors type people), Titicaca, and the Amazon jungle. For the hike, you’re required to pay for porters (give jobs to the locals), so you don’t have to carry your stuff. You can choose to carry your stuff, but you’ll still be paying for porters. If you can do it, the hike is wonderful. I'd say Titicaca is a must do - but only if you do a home stay on one of the islands. While the families don't speak Spanish or English, it was a great experience.

PP here. The hotel at the base of the mountain is Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge by Orient-Express. I said high end-ish as I did not feel that by my research it was luxurious enough to be considered high-end but certainly Orient-Express is in that category.

There is one high-ish end hotel at the very edge
of the park; when I last checked it was ~$700/night. There are other highish-end hotels in Aguas Calientes for ~$500 night. We stayed at SUMAQ and upon checking in, the hotel offered to send a porter to buy the following day's bus tickets and then subsequently the next day, sent a porter to hold our seats on the bus so when the bus drove by the hotel, we were picked up as the last stop before the ascent to the park. We truly felt taken care of.

Anybody spent night at Machu Picchu..are there any resorts when you get up there?

8:48 again - I agree that Lima is largely worth skipping but do visit the Plaza Mayor and have some nice meals. Lots of good ceviche and other seafood, Pisco Sours, etc.

I have heard Iquitos is amazing. With a 9 year old it might be more fun that rolling the dice on the Nazca Lines.

And I agree Pisac and Ollantaytambo are worth seeing. Lots of nice sights in Cuzco as well.

We found a Peruvian travel agent who spoke English and booked everything with her. We even had a driver meet us at the airports and shuttle us around because it was not expensive.

Final big tip - we found out the hard way that you must re-confirm your RETURN flight from Cuzco to Lima. We didn't think to do this and the flight was oversold. Airport was sheer chaos. I fainted while waiting in line (second time while in Cuzco due to the altitude sickness!!) but we finally got on a later flight.

Loved Arequipa!!

OP--- sounds Nazca lines are fascinating but we might give it a skip with a 8 year old..thank you for sharing itineraries and wonderful suggestions. how much would it approxiamtely cost to book it through a local travel agency in Peru? What is the best timeframe to visit Peru? Is it possible to avoid peak touristy season and still be able to enjoy?

Titicaca was amazing. The cultures that lived there are very interesting.

Friends did the Nasca lines and said everyone on the plane spent most of the trip barfing. The pilots turn the plane almost sideways in both directions to "improve the view." I was fine looking at a book of photos.

So many things I want to share but I will keep it short:

1. Plan this yourself. We did; it was easy. The tour groups are terribly obnoxious. You can find good B&Bs (try: Second Home Cusco for Cusco; Second Home Peru for Lima - it is a brother / sister operation; both fathered by the living artist, Victor Delfin) and train passes to Machu Picchu. (Book train passes months in advance.)

2. When in Cusco (I second the altitude sickness meds) have the B&BS hire a car for you for the day; they can take you to some lesser known but equally as amazing ruins in the Sacred Valley. Make sure you see Pisac and Ollantaytambo.

3. Do not plan for more than a night or two in Lima. But, hit up some fine dining while you are there. Research Gaston Acurio and Israel Laura. Both are world-class Peruvian chefs. Also, Museo Larco was our favorite museum.

4. Splurge for one night on a $500 hotel in Aguas Calientes. Otherwise, do not expect electricity or a hot shower. We took the train the night before our day trip to Machu Picchu, and spent the night there (in comfort while the town lost power) before an early rise to be a few of the first people there. Also, take cash with you to Aguas - again, the one ATM may or may not work depending on the electricity situation. Oh, and do bring / wear bug repellent and long pants, no matter how hot it is. You will appreciate that you are not big bitten to death as some tourists end up.

Good luck and enjoy - you will have an amazing time!

P.S. I would do:

Day 1 & Day 2 - US Flight to Lima and to Cusco (just get there)

Day 3-4 - Cusco and surrounds

Day 5-6 - Train to Aguas Calientes / Machu Picchu

Day 7 - Cusco

Day 8-9 - Lima

Never saw Nasca Lines or Lake Titicaca but I will go back someday

My tips:

Bring Cipro.

Throw money at this trip. With my husband, pre-children, we did this trip on the cheep and I will regret this decision forever.

Peru is a developing country and not as sanitary as we expected. I was cold and sick most of my 2 weeks there.

On the same trip we went to Brazil for another week and that was super-fab.

I will say that the amazon rain forest is a must-see. We went to Iquitos. Below please find the company we used but we went to a lodge that didn't have a pool or electricity and yet we still loved it.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294315-d627890-Reviews-Amazon_Explorama_Lodges-Iquitos_Loreto_Region.html

I went to Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Nazca Lines before having kids. I had altititude sickness in Cusco FYI but you can get preventative medication...

My other tips are:

1. Stay one night up at the ruins at Machu Picchu. Yes, the hotel is a total rip off but you will have the whole morning to yourselves before the trainload of tourists arrives from Cuzco. It's really magical to feel like ou are the onl people there.

2. You will want to take a charter to see the Nazca lines, otherwise they are not worth seeing from the ground. Take the first flight in the morning since the air gets bumpier as the day goes on. Do not have breakfast first AND take Dramamine. It is amazing but air sickness is common on the small planes in the bumpy air. You want to give yourselves high odds of having a great flight.

If you do Nazca lines, be very careful about the planes you can charter to go up and see them. There are a lot of very shady companies.

We came into Peru from Bolivia across Lake Titicaca and thought it was beautiful. We took a bus from there to Cuzco which also had some pretty interesting sights along the way.

I did this pre kids with Gap Adventures, and they have family friendly itineraries...you may want to check them out for ideas. We did a 3 day hike, so no time for titicaca or nazca lines, but we did the jungle...Puerto Maldonado, I believe. I would have chosen nazca lines over titicaca if I had to narrow it down. I love that you're taking an 8yo on this trip!!

We are planning 8-9 days trip to Peru with 8 year old. Looking for some itinerary tips that includes must see places in Peru. we can add a day or two if needed. We will be arriving in Lima. MP and Cusco is definitely on the list. I have heard about Amazon rainforest, Nazca lines, Lake Titicaca... Would love to know of any good travel agents and also want to keep economical.