Better to do small trips and be smart about it. I didn't die at all when I went and managed to get my Dragon Defender. Tried for multiple but went ~1k+ tokens dry sadly.
I think Relleka would be best for the altar house. Rimmington would work but there's high potential for pkers to show up. Although it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal.
I really regret not doing all the major quests in the first week. No one had any stats and end game gear was non-existent. Definitely going to be a pain in the ass to do the big quests this late in the game.
Isn't BA relatively safe though once you're inside? You can't bring runes or anything in and I believe the wave rooms are safe. Defenders on the other hand, yeah definitely one of the most dangerous places to be.