Collaborative motorcoach tours create new opportunities for travel, fellowship and shared adventure
Written by Juanita Fox, director of media experiences and storytelling
Before sunrise on a June morning, residents from Garden Spot Village and two other local retirement communities gathered, luggage in hand and anticipation in the air. By 6:45am, they were settling into an Executive Coach motorcoach bound for Cape Cod—part of a new collaborative travel opportunity designed to make group tours more accessible, enjoyable, and sustainable for residents across several Lancaster County retirement communities.
The Retirement Community Collaborative tour initiative started after conversations with leaders in area resident life teams, who had similar experiences of residents wanting to travel and the challenges of “filling the bus.” The collaborative model brings local retirement community residents together for shared experiences exploring new destinations and collectively having enough interest to make the trip successful.
Bob Neff Tours (BNT) was founded in 1977 with the mission to unite faith, fellowship and travel on the tours that the company offers. Bob Neff Tours continues to build on this foundation, providing high-quality group tours with carefully crafted itineraries to explore the world and create meaningful connections with other travelers.
For travelers, the benefit is ease. Bob Neff Tours handles all the transportation, rest stops, hotels, meals, attractions and local guides—so travelers can simply pack and enjoy the journey.
Jeff Berger, the Tour Director who accompanied the Cape Cod group, said the shared experience quickly bonded the communities.
“You would never know as an onlooker that the group was actually comprised of three separate communities,” he says. “Everyone just seemed to share the experience together, talking and getting to know each other. That’s one of the real blessings of traveling in a group—the friendships that you create.”
Eric MacKay, a Garden Spot Village resident since April 2020 who participated in the tour with his wife Tine, says, “This was our first bus tour, and we had a good time. It was interesting to converse with people from other communities, and it was nice to enjoy conversations with new friends at dinner.”
Karen Bender, General Manager at BNT, noted that many longtime BNT travelers appreciate the trust they have developed with Bob Neff Tours, knowing each itinerary is planned with care and includes family-friendly attractions, good food, comfortable accommodations and meaningful experiences along the way.
Popular BNT tours include Cape Cod, Alaska Land and Sea, the Canadian Rockies, Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, Museum of the Bible and the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. Another favorite among passengers is BNT’s Mystery Tours (both one day and overnight), where travelers board the bus without knowing the destination and let the adventure unfold. BNT also offers unique or interest-specific tours, such as the recent “Declassified: Secrets of the South” tour, featuring the Greenbrier cold war bunker, the secret city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and other behind-the-scenes stops.
BNT’s next Retirement Community Collaborative tour is Niagara Falls & Finger Lakes, scheduled for September 28 through October 2, 2026. They hope to schedule additional Retirement Community Collaborative tours in 2027.
Karen Bender, the General Manager of BNT, believes that the company’s work is about far more than arranging travel to a destination. “Travel, exploring, and leisure are important components of a full and meaningful life for people of all ages. It is a privilege to work alongside the retirement communities to offer cooperative tours that allow residents the opportunity to explore our beautiful world and make memories with new and old friends, she says.”
Jeff said that sense of connection reflects what Bob Neff Tours hopes people experience on every trip. “We really do try to create an atmosphere of family and friends, where you hopefully leave feeling like you’ve been part of a family that shared an experience together.”
All you have to do is pack—Bob Neff Tours will take care of the rest.
Hear more about Garden Spot Village’s partnership with Bob Neff Tours on the Purpose in Retirement podcast: gardenspotcommunities.org/podcast.
This article is published in the Fall/Winter 2026 Issue of Destination Magazine. An online publication can be found here.
Juanita Fox, director of media experiences and storytelling for Garden Spot Communities, brings a wealth of marketing and storytelling experience. She is the managing editor for Destination Magazine as well as the co-host for Garden Spot’s Purpose in Retirement Podcast.