I have to book a vacation that I am taking in a weeks time (yay paid week off!) and I don't know where I should go. I have a budget of $2000.

My likes include cigars, history, politics and economics. I thought DC but I hear the heat is hellish this time of year. I have a passport so I can go anywhere.

I was going to go to Mexico with a friend but he abruptly disappeared, last minute.

Where do I go?

I am open to anywhere
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Canada?
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Where are you?
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Nicaragua
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My wife and I went to Barcelona and Belgium in August 2008. Barcelona was hot, but Belgium was quite comfortable (temp in the 70s). We visited Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges. We really enjoyed Antwerp and Bruges was like a small medieval town filled with canals. You could also visit Amsterdam from Belgium without too much of a hassle.

If temperature is a major driver, you could visit a few cities in Scandinavia (Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, etc.) The great thing about that area is that the sun is now up for 19 - 20 hours a day.
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Visit San Antonio. Some good cigar shops, great history with the Alamo and the Mission Trail, great food.

Or Austin. Go see the largest Capital building in the US. You could drive up to Waco and see the Texas Ranger museum (LE, not the Baseball team). Still really good food, too. And nice cigar shops.
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I am in San Bernardino, but I can visit anywhere in the world if the budget is right. I have $2000 to work with. Temperature is not a major driver
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Come visit Canada.... we have expensive cigars....:-):-)
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For 2k Cuba is easy...

but this question is way too open ended. it all depends on interests. Europe, Central America, SEA...so many options
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Hong Kong is about $1400 in airfare, so if you can live for a week on $600...

Anyone know of good hostels in HK?

oh yeah, kayak.com for airfare
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HK would be an awesome vacation
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North Korea
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Yup, cause mexico isn't hot at all, lol....

New Orleans or the Smokies.
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Actually, I would suggest taking a second look at DC based on what you listed.

You could spend a few days in the National Mall and get so much science, history, politics, etc. Yes, it's hot as heck, but just enjoy it and you can spend most of your time indoors to get away from the heat.

And nearly all of the sight-seeing spots are free or you can give what you can by donation, so you could easily stay within your budget.
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