The river is right on the border between the US and Canada. There are wrecks on both sides.
You would need to check with customs about foreign citizens, but it's usually not a problem crossing the border. It just gets busy on weekends and 8 - 10 am and 4 - 6 pm.
Syracuse is a small college town (Syracuse University) surrounded by suburbs. It's not New York City (NYC is about a 5 hour drive). Just to give you an idea, downtown only has 3 buildings that are over 20 stories tall. It does, however have a number of really interesting bars and restaurants (The Dinosaur Barbecue for smoked chicken, ribs, beer, etc.), a couple of really nice Sushi places (Ichiban's and Kyoko's), and an authentic Irish pub (Coleman's).
There's an excellent SCUBA shop in Syacuse (
http://www.nationalaquatic.com) that can rent you pretty much anything you need.
The airport is quite a bit north of Syracuse right on Route 81, which heads north into Canada, about an hour away. Car rental is about $20 US/Day, and gas is currently about $2.25/US Gallon.
I can't tell you much about the Canadian airports, but the Syracuse Airport generally has very short lines, and is usually pretty quiet, which makes it nice to travel to/from.
If you decide to come, let us know!
Terry
KOMPRESSOR:
Any Int. airports on the Canadian side? I suppose it would be easier with one less border crossing for a foreign citizen. Besides, I wouldn't mind NOT having to drive through ANY part of New York...
Will it be more expensive to rent a truck or car in Canada than at JFK ?
Info greatly appreciated!