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There are a couple of options for visiting the summit.
You can take one of the commercial tours which will pick you up from the hotel, take you to the Visitor Information Station (VIS) and up to the summit for the sunset and then stop somewhere else for a bit of star-gazing with an 8" or 11" SCT. The tours are primarily aimed at the casually interested but they are professional tour operators so it's a good day/night out.
Standard rental cars are only permitted up as far as the VIS. The rental contracts state that and there is no insurance cover past there. There is one company on the Island (Harpers) that will rent you a 4WD specifically to go to the summit. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, there is a free convoy to the summit led by a volunteer from the VIS. You must provide your own vehicle. 4WD only, not AWD. You can come and go at any time but the rangers will kick you off the summit after sunset.
Cheapest option of them all is to just go to the VIS. They have more and better scopes than the tours and are operated by local amateurs and astro university students so you can look at some of the less common things.
Steve.
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