My wife and I (65 & 70 yo) chose to do the self guided TMB trek offered by Salamander. All of the information provided by Salamander was very helpful. Our luggage was always picked up and delivered as expected. The lodging accommodations were at least adequate in the case of the auberge and the hotels were quite nice, especially considering the locations. We did have a misadventure in La Palud/ Courmeyer however. We both got food poison at a cafe in Courmeyer. That put us off the trail for 48 hours. The staff at hotel Astoria, (accommodation chosen by Salamander) were super kind. Phil, from Salamander, offered helpful advice on how we could get transport from La Palud to Les Contamines in time to get back on our lodging schedule. Which allowed us to complete the last leg of the trek. Salamander provided quite detailed directions with basic maps for each leg of the trek. Their recomendations for detailed maps to purchase were spot on. Defintely at least get Rando edition : A1 Pays du MONT-BLANC 1 :50,000. Between the info/directions provided by Salamander and the trail markings en route the self guided option is very doable. Also, the trek is quite demanding, we did a lot of demanding hikes in preperation. So take that for what it's worth. Lastly the clockwise direction is a good choice. It does allow you to build up to the longer, harder, days at the end. You can talk to people you meet coming from the other direction and ask questions about the trail ahead. It was a great trip. We would reccommend Salamander to other travelers interested in such an adventure.