I like to explore as much as I can, so it was an easy call for me. I wanted to go as far as possible, so I would have gone whether or not polar bears were around.

I took the Point Barrow excursion in June 2008 and enjoyed it very much, and would do it again. You would not be able to get there on your own. And with the potential of polar bears wandering around, a tourist needs to go on a tour for safety purposes.

You are essentially in a vehicle driving on a beach of shells, and therefore it's extremely rough. I rarely get motion sickness anymore, but I had to quickly take a dramamine due to bouncing up and down so much. Had I taken the trip the day before, I would have seen polar bears, but we were not so fortunate. However, we did get the opportunity to have photos taken at Point Barrow. Then we saw a seal on the way back from the point, and the driver got out his gun to bring a prized seal back home. But the seal disappeared too quickly.

It's really the only excursion of any distance away from Barrow. Otherwise IIRC, you are limited to the one road that only goes about 5 miles toward the Point.
riftime