I'm feeling silly divulging this but I am a nervous passenger/driver when it comes to cliffs. We will be on the Big Island and my husband has made the concession of driving the island clockwise in the event we will be driving any curvy cliffy highways. So how are the road conditions? Are the roadways wide with guardrails? or Should I consider hypnosis or perhaps mild prescriptions for nerves? I'm laughing now as I am writing this but I don't want to ruin my husbands vacation with my "annoying gasps" Any information to "steal my nerves" and prepare me would be helpful.

Big Island roads don't really go along cliffs...the road is more inland and then there are terraces down toward the ocean in most places.

I also hate cliffs, but really, the big isalnd is easy driving.

If you're just talking about the main highway around the island, there's not much to worry about. North of Hilo you will go over some spectacular bridges and very deep gorges, but they all have guard rails and the highway is nice and wide. Other than that, as lcuy noted, the road is completely non-threatening and/or inland from the coast.

Two roads you definitely want to steer clear of on the island are Mauna Kea Summit Road, and the access road to Waipio Valley. But it's a shame to let irrational phobias get in the way of exploring these incredible sites.

Jagzand, I'm a total backseat driver and I HATE cliffs. But I felt fairly comfortable on the belt road, even on the "cliffy" section fdecarlo describes. (Well, except for one brief moment when we passed a very confident 18-wheeler on a very tight curve !)

Maui and Oahu appear to have more of the close to the edge roadways.

Thanks everyone. You've made me feel loads better. I am sure to enjoy my vacation knowing this bit of information ahead of time.