How To Road Trip New Zealand in a Jucy Cabana Campervan

This past April, we rented a Jucy campervan for our two week road trip on the South Island of New Zealand. It was our first time doing a campervan trip, which we got to share with our friends, Heath and Alyssa, who rented a bigger motorhome. We learned a lot and wanted to share some of the insights we gleaned with future travelers.

The Jucy Cabana next to our friends’ motorhome

About Jucy

Jucy is one of the top providers of budget campervan rentals for road trips in New Zealand. Their bright green and purple brand stands out both online and on the road. We saw them everywhere (except maybe Dunedin)!

Apparently, a pair of brothers started the company in Auckland, New Zealand and it now operates all over New Zealand, Australia, and California. They now have cruise boats in Milford Sound as well as accommodations in a few of the most popular towns.

I learned from their website that Jucy actually designs and builds their own vans. We were pretty impressed at how everything fit inside, so it’s no wonder that they’re custom made.

The following video is a brief introduction to our Jucy Cabana campervan. Peak inside and see how it works!

Click here to get the packing cubes we mentioned in the video (affiliate link)

Which campervan should you get?

Jucy offers a few options for campervans. The Cabana is the most basic and cheapest version of their minivan-turned-camper. The back seats and table transition into a bed for two people; and there’s a small fridge, stove, and sink accessible from the back door.

The next step up is The Champ, which is essentially the Cabana with a rooftop bed on top. With The Champ, you can sleep a total of four people. Or if there’s only two people, you could use the “Penthouse” bed and avoid the need to transition the inside from seating to sleeping each day.

The next step up in price and amenities is the Jucy Condo. This is their cheapest self-contained option, which means it comes with a cassette toilet (think: portable bin that has to be dumped – there is not a bathroom on board) and a grey water tank. Being self-contained is a big deal in New Zealand because it allows you to camp in many more “freedom camping” areas. (More about that in our post on 10 Things You Should Know Before Road Tripping New Zealand.) There’s a permanent bed above the driver and passenger seats and you can make a second bed by transitioning the back seats and table. The sink, fridge, and two-burner stove are all inside.

The Jucy Chaser is much like the Condo except the back corner has been turned into a tiny bathroom with toilet and shower. There is still possibility to make two double beds, but there are only three seat belts (all on the front bench seat).

Stopping by Lake Wanaka

We chose the Jucy Cabana because cost was our deciding factor. It was $950 NZD for two weeks in April. We would have loved to book a self-contained vehicle so we’d have more camping options, but ~$47 USD a night was already pushing our budget.

Jucy Cabana Campervan Review

We looked at other campervan rental companies and Jucy’s prices were very competitive. Although the set up is much more basic compared to other motorhomes, it’s still adequate. They give you exactly what you need and no more. No frills.

Jucy provides cookware, cutting boards, and utensils – the hefty knife was a souvenir from our previous stop in Southeast Asia

I had my eye on the listings at TransferCar, which provides discounted rentals if you help rental companies relocate their vehicles. But nothing fit our trip plans. I then got quotes through an aggregator site called Vroom Vroom Vroom, but found that they actually didn’t list all of the options that Jucy had available. Then I discovered that Jucy also lists some discounted transfer options on their own website. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out for us either. In the end, I booked a straight-forward pick up and return at Queenstown Airport.

The service we received at the counter was professional and friendly. The staff is young and they seem well-traveled themselves. We arrived first thing in the morning at the Queenstown Airport. Apparently it was an extremely busy day, so they gave us certificates for the coffee shop nearby while we waited. Then we walked out to the van and received a thorough, friendly intro to how the van works.

Pros of the Cabana:

– good gas mileage compared to other campervans
– drives smoothly and is easy to park
– well designed for basic needs
– more protected than car or tent camping
– comes with utensils, towels, bedding, dust broom, and other necessities
– good storage
– can power up your devices via USB

Cons of the Cabana:

– cooking must be done with back door open (lets in the cold, bugs, rain)
– stove doesn’t heat well in wind
– bed cannot be set while driving because the front seats must be all the way forward
– it’s obvious you’re a tourist with the bright green and purple exterior
– no charging for regular plugs (a challenge to keep laptops charged)

All in all, we were satisfied with our experience in the Cabana. If we had the budget, we definitely would have chosen a self-contained vehicle and one with the cookstove indoors. These were the two biggest hurdles. We were fortunate that our friends let us cook in their motorhome during inclement weather – otherwise, we’d have eaten PB&J all day. And there were a couple nights we weren’t able to camp next to each other because we weren’t allowed in areas designated for self-contained only.

Working in the common kitchen at a “holiday park.” These are not cheap, but they allowed us to charge our laptops, take hot showers, do laundry (coin operated), and cook indoors once in a while.

One of the campsites that’s free to non-self-contained vehicles

Other than those things, the Cabana served us well. And it allowed us to see some amazing places around the South Island!

Things to do on the South Island of New Zealand

The best thing to do in New Zealand is drive around and see the amazing landscapes. Then, hop out to explore the beautiful towns – our favorites were Wanaka, Arrowtown, Oamaru, and Queenstown. Visiting National Parks is free, and there are plenty of great hikes as well as interesting visitor centers (called i-SITEs in New Zealand). All of these things are highly recommended whether you’re on a tight budget or not.

Other popular things to do include adventure sports like sky diving and bungee jumping, jet boat rides, and cruises around the many lakes and fjords.

Finally, some tips we want to pass along to future Jucy Cabana renters:

1. Wave to your fellow Jucy drivers on the road – it’s fun!

2. Bring an umbrella to block any wind and rain when using the cookstove

3. Use apps like Campermate and Rankers to plan ahead and find well-rated campsites in your budget that allow non-self-contained vehicles

Be sure to check out: 10 Things You Should Know Before Road Tripping in New Zealand

If you have any questions about the Jucy Cabana, feel free to ask in the comments below!

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