Early flight out of Dublin
 

My husband and I are visiting Belfast next May/June, but flying in and out of Dublin because it was so much less expensive. Our return flight is on Sunday 3 June at 5:45 am. As of now, we are vacating our Belfast AirBnB on Saturday the 2nd. I had planned to stay at a hotel near the Dublin airport that night and take a hotel shuttle to the airport, but I can't find a hotel with a shuttle that leaves before 4 am, and I'm concerned that will not be enough time.

So, I think our options are to still stay near the airport (lowest price I can find is $105 at a Premier Inn in Swords) - then hiring a private taxi in the middle of the night from there, since we'd prefer to leave around 3am for the airport...is it possible to get a taxi at that time out there?

Or, we can get a hotel in Dublin (everything is expensive that night - $200 or more) and take the Air Coach which runs 24/7. This would cost more but on the flip side Dublin would be more fun that last night than an airport hotel.

The only other option I can think of is to take a late bus from Belfast on the 2nd, I believe there is one at 11 that gets to the airport at 1am, then crash at the airport for a few hours if that is allowed? Normally I wouldn't even consider this, but we'd have to wake up at 2:30 or so at a hotel anyway so I'm mulling it over.

Any insights or advice on which option seems to make the most sense? Thanks!

I would just choose a Dublin hotel and either take the Air Coach or have the hotel schedule a taxi--we did not find the cost significant.
Because of an issue we had, I looked for a hotel near the airport, but the drive is so brief anyway, staying in Dublin was fine.

There are hotels at the airport that you could walk to the airport from or have a taxi pick you up. That is an early flight.

We've stayed at the Maldron Hotel right at the airport, and were quite satisfied with our stay. They had a decent restaurant, which is not always the case at airport hotels. They also were very accomodating to my daughter, travelling with a child, who arrived very early in the morning after a long flight at the beginning of our trip and had to wait six hours for us, who were arriving from Italy. They rented her a room for half a day at a reasonable price, so she could rest and shower.

Thanks, I didn't realize some of the hotels were walkable. The Maldron is $219 (eek) and the lowest price of the 2 that appear to be in walking distance. Maybe that is the best option since we don't have to deal with the Air Coach.