tips on after getting the airship?

[Will]

i should mention it's my first ever playthrough.
anyway, i just got the airship(haven't even spoken to anyone on it. just saved and exited), so i wanted to ask if anyone has any tips on how to act after getting it.
do i get to freely roam around the world to go to wherever i want and stuff? cause i read once not to go back to Besaid after getting the airship cause then you'd face a "black\dark" Aeon? are there more like this i should be aware of?

also, is it a proper time to go back to the thunder Plains and attempt the 200 lightning bolts at this point?

another also, what is up with the cactuars? how do i go about defeating one(SHOULD i even attempt defeating one)? and what's the "minigame" and where does it "activate" and do you have any tips on it?

note: i do have all the Jecht Spheres and Al Bhed Primers that're available at this point, so unless there's a pressing reason to go back to previous points, i should just continue as is right?

one more thing, now that we don't have Yuna on the team, it's wise to have Lulu learn healing magic right? though i don't know how far exactly those are in accordance to her grid. or should i put Kimahri to it? since he can have any of the other characters' feats?

[Hinnyuu]

Continue the story. You may be aboard the airship, but if Yuna isn't in your party then you don't REALLY have it, as in have full control to where you want to go; that point comes later in the story, and is the watershed moment people refer to as "having the airship". There's some ways to go still for that.

[raystevens73]

This is point to get Wakka and Brother if you want them for Blitzball.

[Mikasa Ackerman]

you dont have it yet , you have to play a few more areas , and once you actually get it , you should probably do some grinding or exploring but dont upgrade the sphere grid yet or do post game stuff , finish the story first , the final bosses become very easy if you have max stats

[Valden21]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Continue the story. You may be aboard the airship, but if Yuna isn't in your party then you don't REALLY have it, as in have full control to where you want to go; that point comes later in the story, and is the watershed moment people refer to as "having the airship". There's some ways to go still for that.

Agreed. This game continues the series tradition of being IN the airship, but the story controls where you go. Until you control your destination, you don't really have the airship. Continue with the story first.

[Will]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Continue the story. You may be aboard the airship, but if Yuna isn't in your party then you don't REALLY have it, as in have full control to where you want to go; that point comes later in the story, and is the watershed moment people refer to as "having the airship". There's some ways to go still for that.

Originally posted by raystevens73:

This is point to get Wakka and Brother if you want them for Blitzball.

Originally posted by Sakura Haruno:

you dont have it yet , you have to play a few more areas , and once you actually get it , you should probably do some grinding or exploring but dont upgrade the sphere grid yet or do post game stuff , finish the story first , the final bosses become very easy if you have max stats

Originally posted by Valden21:

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Continue the story. You may be aboard the airship, but if Yuna isn't in your party then you don't REALLY have it, as in have full control to where you want to go; that point comes later in the story, and is the watershed moment people refer to as "having the airship". There's some ways to go still for that.

Agreed. This game continues the series tradition of being IN the airship, but the story controls where you go. Until you control your destination, you don't really have the airship. Continue with the story first.

i see. thank you everyone for clarifying! =)