Trying to plan my first Peru trip

[Vertu]

I've never been to South America in my life, and this year I finally want to change that. For a while I kept circling around Argentina and Brazil, mostly because those are the countries people bring up first, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to start somewhere that felt a little less talked to death, so I landed on Peru. Now I'm putting the trip together and trying not to build some random route that looks good on a map and turns into a slog once I'm there. What places in Peru are actually worth seeing, what's the best way to get there and move around once I arrive, and is renting a car there a solid idea or not really?

[Gatekeeper]

The less hyped pick usually ends up being the better call, you get a trip that actually has some personality to it. Peru's got a lot going on beyond the one thing everyone already knows about. Most people start with Cusco and it makes sense, there's enough there to keep you busy for days without even leaving the city. From there the trail leads pretty naturally toward Machu Picchu, and yeah it earns the reputation, just get there early before the crowds pile in. A lot of people also sleep on the Sacred Valley between the two, there's a whole stretch of smaller ruins and local markets scattered through it that are worth slowing down for.

[Alphan]

People always underestimate how much there is outside the main Inca circuit and end up wishing they'd planned for more time. Lima alone could eat up two or three days easy if you actually stop there properly. On the car question, Peru's worth doing with your own wheels for a good chunk of the trip. You can rent a car in Peru here https://getrentacar.com/en-US/peru . Something comfortable handles the main routes fine, and for the coastal stretch south of Lima toward Paracas it makes the whole thing way more flexible. From there you can keep pushing south toward Arequipa and stop wherever looks good along the way.