About EastWest

The origins of EastWest began in 1978 when Professor Robert Feldman, a historian and Director of the East European Russian Studies program at Cal State Fullerton, was asked by a friend to escort a group tour to the Soviet Union. Previously, under the auspices of the Soviet-American Cultural Exchange Program, Professor Feldman, along with his wife and two sons, had lived in Moscow for five months while he performed research at Moscow State University. His two boys, aged seven and nine, attended a Russian school and the Feldman’s lived in typical Soviet conditions – one small room for the entire family. That experience, as well as twenty-eight years teaching both undergraduate and graduate students at CSUF, gave Professor Feldman a unique perspective of Soviet society and Russian history that he shares with his guests on every tour. The success of that first tour and the extremely positive fellowship that developed among his new “students” encouraged Dr. Feldman to create EastWest International Tours, a company devoted exclusively to making historical and cultural understanding the most important aspect of every trip.

In 1986, many of those who traveled to the former Soviet Union asked Professor Feldman to organize a tour to China. This was followed by tours to Eastern Bloc countries in 1988 and 1989. In 1992, Professor Feldman took the opportunity for early retirement from the University so he could devote all of his time to leading group tours. In essence, his classroom moved from the CSUF History Department to the buses, hotels and historical sites visited by his travelers. As he often tells his fellow travelers, what he misses most about University life are his students. Now, Professor Feldman has an entirely new group of students. Some are a bit older with a few more gray hairs, but they bring with them life experiences that enrich every EastWest tour, making discussion of history and culture more fun and memorable.

In the early 1990s, EastWest expanded the company’s destinations and Professor Feldman invited former colleagues from CSUF and other experts to lead the company’s growing cadre of repeat travelers and continue his tradition of mixing history and cultural understanding with world travel. For nearly thirty years, EastWest has organized tours to Russia, China, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Tibet, Silk Road of China, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru. EastWest has also developed specialized programs like aviation tours to Russia and China with the San Diego Aerospace Museum as well as military history tours to Russia.

Unlike the large tour operators that you will find at your local travel agent, all of our excursions are limited to 20 passengers and sold by word of mouth and referrals from previous EastWest travelers. Repeat customers fill our new destinations quickly as we have developed an extremely loyal following. Those who have traveled with us before know that an EastWest tour is a close-knit, personal atmosphere that promises memories, friendships and insights that last a lifetime.

Telephone an expert at 1-800-359-6719