When it comes to thermal activity and hot bathing, Rotorua is a veritable steam bath and first stop is Kuirau Park, just west of the city centre.
This park is hugely underrated, and an absolute must for any traveller, not just those on a budget.
It has dozens of steam vents, hot springs and boiling mud pools to wander around at your leisure.
The top attractions of the park are the relaxing foot baths, which the kids loved to splash around in, and the huge steaming crystal clear Kuirau's Pool at the north end, which is traversed by a boardwalk.
While Kuirau Park was "developed" in the 1930s, an altogether more recent attraction is the walk at Sulphur Point. Once a rubbish tip, this area that skirts the shores of Lake Rotorua from the city centre to Holden's Bay, has been cleaned and it's possible to follow the walkway past the bird colonies, thermal activity and bush. It's quite spectacular and bar a few runners, almost devoid of people.
If you have your own transport, numerous free hot pools are within about 40km of Rotorua. Places like Secret Spot at Wai-O-Tapu, and the Butchers Pool just outside Reporoa. For more ideas check out the NZhotpools.co.nz website.
Without the budget to get two families into the Polynesian Pools we bundled our tribe into the people carrier and headed for an afternoon's bathing at Kerosene Creek.
The creek is more like a large stream that tumbles over a waterfall jacuzzi style into a large and, in parts, deep pool surrounded by native bush. This is the stuff of childhood memories and more than any man-made pool can provide.
If bathing in the great outdoors isn't your cup of tea and the commercial pools break the budget, then it's also worth visiting the mineral Rachel Pool at the QE Spa in the centre of town opposite the lake front. It costs $5 each.
When it comes to the great outdoors, there's plenty on offer in Rotorua. Some of the lakes such as Blue Lake have lakeside walkways. Or if you're feeling more energetic it's worth climbing Rainbow Mountain just south of the city, for views of White Island and Mt Ruapehu on a good day.
For a change from native bush, we headed for the Redwoods at Whakarewarewa Forest, where, as you can guess, a forest of towering Californian Redwoods awaits. It has many walking and mountain biking tracks of varying lengths. One track brings you out to Te Puia Hill overlooking the spectacular Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa.
Rotorua, of course, is famed for its Maori cultural events and culture but unless you have friends at a marae, it's almost impossible to eat hangi without going to one of the hotels or attractions such as the Tamaki Village.
But it is possible to experience Maori culture in action at Ohinemutu, at the northwest corner of the city centre.
And while you're at Ohinemutu, it's well worth giving a gold coin donation to visit St Faith's church, where even the pews are hand-carved.
As far as Kapa Haka goes, you're unlikely to encounter a free concert unless you're lucky enough to be in town for the Rotorua Festival of Arts or another public event. But scratch the surface and it's possible to see men at work carving and women weaving, without paying for a visit to the New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute.
We were fortunate enough to be staying over the fence from the Waiariki Technical Institute, which has its own carving school and gallery.
Both are open to the public to visit and when we wandered by a student invited us in to see what he was doing. It's also worth looking at the Tangatarua marae, on the campus, which was designed by famed carver Lyonel Grant.
There are other opportunities to see carving in action. In the window of the old Rotorua Printers' building in Haupapa St carver Rakeiuekaha Kingi was working on a magnificent piece (though he has just moved to new premises in the old Mountain Action site on Fairy Springs Rd).
Another not-to-miss attraction is the Te Arawa Waka housed on the lake front in town. The 33m waka was carved by Lyonel Grant in 1989.
If it's contemporary Maori art you want to see then the city has an arts trail with more than 40 galleries and public art spaces listed. An up-to-date arts trail pamphlet can be printed from www.creativerotorua.org.nz.
Rave, the Rotorua Arts Village Experience is worth a visit. It has a variety of local groups exhibiting and using the space.
Unfortunately, most of the smaller commercial galleries such as Te Raukura: The Red Feather Gallery and Of Hand and Heart weren't suitable places to take five small children thanks to the presence of breakable items.
When it comes to accommodation, the cheapest option - other than a house swap or staying with friends - is camping, though there is no rough camping allowed in the Rotorua District.
At the bargain basement end of the camping scene are the two Department of Conservation campsites at Rerewhakaaitu, 29km southeast of Rotorua.
In town are a number of campsites, including one at the Redwoods, two top 10 holiday parks, in town and at Holden's Bay, and also the Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park, where we stayed because the kids love the five thermal pools.
If camping and cabins isn't your thing, the cheapest room available on Wotif.com when I checked was a twin studio (not big enough for a family) at the MicroTel Rotorua for $69 a night. Rotorua has many backpackers' hostels, some of which have family rooms.
When it comes to eating the cheapest option is to have a barbecue at your campsite, or one of the free barbecue sites, such as on the Rotorua lakefront.
All of that said, if you've never seen Rotorua's top attractions, then don't carry your budget visit too far and miss them all. The city's not on the international tourist trail for nothing and places like Te Puia, Rotorua Museum, Tamaki Village, the Buried Village, Polynesian Spa and the rest are well worth the money.
* For information and bookings in Rotorua see rotoruanz.com or ring the city's i-site at (07) 348 5179.
* For ideas on how to save money read New Zealand For Free by Linda Duncan and Hot Pools of New Zealand by Sally Jackson.
