North Or South?

Cuzco and MP are in the south. First time travellers to Peru usually visit that part of the country on their first trip.
Northern Peru is equally interesting though, however less popular, meaning less crowds. Chachapoyas area, the mountains with Kuelap and Gocta Falls are the main attractions. Cajamarca and the surrounding area are also interesting to visit. The road from Cajamarca to Chacha is very scenic.
2.5 weeks will be enough for either south or north, not both though.

Good overview above!

If your going to machu pichu (in the south) it doesn't make much sense to then back track all the way up north IMO. Also I wouldn't recommend huaraz in February as weather means trekking (the main reason to visit huaraz) is probably not going to be much fun.

I haven't been North but would definitely recommend the South. Most travellers follow roughly the same route down from Lima to Paracas, Ica/Huacahina, Arequipa, and Cusco.

I really enjoyed Paracas, Huacachina and Lake Titicaca in particular. Maybe my itinerary will inspire you!

I went last year when there were some serious floods in the North. The South was fine to travel around.

I liked Paracas (Ballestas Islands and Paracas Reserve) and Huacachina (did not go to Nazca). I also liked Arequipa and loved our trek in the Colca Canyon. But northern Peru was amazing. We had 11 days but you could do it in less. We took an overnight bus from Lima to Trujillo. We actually stayed in Huanchaco, a beach town close to Trujillo where you can see the reed boats. We visited Chan Chan and Huaca de la Luna. Both amazing. We then went on to Chiclayo but stayed in Lambayeque (for the museum of the Lord of Sipan and for Tucume). We took an overnight bus to Chachapoyas. Kuelap was amazing (but we went before the cable car). We also loved the Gocta Falls. And we walked from Levanto to Chachapoyas on the old Inca road. We then took a minibus to Leymebamba (nice town and museum). Then a minibus to Celendin and on to Cajamarca. Amazing scenery. In Cajamarca we liked Cumbemayo and the Ventanillas de Otuzco. We flew back to Lima with LC Peru.

We went in January 2016 but we were lucky because the rain came later that year. We heard travel can be difficult if it rains a lot.

We flew from Lima to Cusco and went to Pisac (we hiked from the village to the top of the ruins and back down on another trail), Chinchero, Moray and the Maras salineras (another hike there), Ollantaytambo (the ruins of course, the granaries and another hike), we had four days to get to Machu Picchu and back (by shuttle and hiking), we spent a day in Cusco and we also hiked from Tambomachay to Sacsayhuaman. We had 9 days in that area but you can do a lot in 5-6 days.

Thanks everyone! Sounds like it makes more sense to do lima, machu pichu and south coast as north doesn't seem worth it in rainy season. Are there some good beaches to relax on in the south or are those mostly up north near mancora?

There are beaches in the south of Peru, but the water is always too cold for swimming. I've heard some Peruvian people talk about going to the beach there, but never any gringos. But Huacachina (near Ica and a few hours from Paracas) tries to impersonate a beach. There are palm trees, giant sand dunes, and lots of sunshine.

Since you have 2.5 weeks, concentrating on the south, I would try to fit in at least Arequipa, and also the Colca Canyon region. Nazca is on the way to/from Lima via Paracas, but it disapoints most people who aren't themselves archeologists.

Rather than going North and if you have time, I would go to the jungle near Iquitos. The idea of staying in the South of Peru is good from a distance/time perspective and also depends what you like to do. I would say, Cuzco (Macchu Picchu, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Saysachuaman, etc.), Lake Titicaca in Puno (if you care about seeing a large high altitude lake and some people enjoy staying on one of the islands w/natives if they are still doing that), Puerto Maldonado (jungle, I stayed in a small rustic cabin next to a river, no electricity and was awesome), Arequipa (Colca Canyon and you can backpack one night). Closer to Lima, Nazca Lines is very unique and you only appreciate it if you can take the flight in a small plane. Unless you are planning on taking the flight, I would skip it. Islas Ballestas is nice (a very small galapagos islands version). If you like animals and rock formations in the ocean then yes, visit. Huacachina has a backpackers feel and excellent for sand boarding. It was a lot of fun. There is a bus from Lima that takes you to Nazca/Paracas/Huacachina - I believe. We drove and I wouldn't recommend it (one lane in many places, large trucks and risk driving). I have done all of the above but in multiple trips.

thanks! Nena, I would love to get some beach and ocean time in if I can. Would you not recommend mancora or northern beaches? I know you can take vivaair pretty cheap. Seems like the coast is the place to be during rainy season. Won't it be very rainy in Amazon basin this time of year at iquitos?