just a to be clear, you wrote that you could consider Tigullio peninsula by car: you don't need car. As in CinqueTerre, left a car is a problem and you can easily move around towns by train. Moreover, I said that Tigullio has far less tourists from america than CT but is a well know resorts for Italians, Germans and Frances. Anyway during fall there are few tourists all over the sea coasts. Over all I can say that pedestrian path on the Tigullio park are less crowded than CT even during high season.

Ciao, Marco in Milan - Italy