I found Total Vanilla and it is a simple survival server that sticks to the real vanilla feel.
There is no tpa and no home commands so you actually have to travel and survive like normal. It feels like the game with no shortcuts and no gameplay changes.
The world border is 300k and the nether roof is enabled. People explore and build whatever they want and the world started 7 days ago so it still feels fresh.
Konohaven SMP is a Java semi vanilla server and Season 5 just started. The big change is that players get way more control this time. Stuff like spawn plans shopping areas and big travel routes are meant to be decided by the community. If you care about how things run you can start a group or work solo and actually shape the world.
The server is on Hard difficulty and it has single player sleep. There is also a live map so you can see what is going on.
For world stuff there is no set world border. Chunks generate out to 1500 at the start to help with early lag then you can explore as much as you want. The seed will be public. World generation is being tweaked to add new features but it is still aimed at keeping the vanilla feel.
Blaze and Caves Advancements are on with reduced chat spam. Simple Voice Chat is optional and you do not need mods to join. There is also an optional Origins datapack and they are still adjusting the values before players pick.
I found a survival multiplayer server called Overstressed SMP and it just launched after weeks of work.
It has a custom questline with over 250 quests so there is always something to do. It also has a player run economy with shops and a currency system.
The spawn is massive and built by the staff team and it sounds like you are supposed to explore it. When you leave spawn you can pick your route like taking a bridge to town or going down into the forest.
There is a road network that connects the world and you can grab starter spurs then get a horse and start your journey.
I found this anarchy SMP and it still feels pretty new. It was registered February 22 so there is a lot of space left to explore.
I have been playing for about a week and it has been fun just roaming and building stuff with people. I helped the owner build a northern highway from spawn out to virgin land.
If you like anarchy style survival and big open travel this place feels like a good start. Come in and see how far you can go.
This server is a week long survival event set in an Attack on Titan style world. It uses a huge custom dimension and you spawn into different villages spread across the map. You start with some basic supplies plus a set of ODM gear and there are horses for getting around.
The big thing is there is no global chat. Talking only works with proximity voice so you have to be near people to communicate. It makes everything feel tense because you never know who is close by.
On day 2 five random players secretly become Titans and they look like normal players. Their goal is to kill everyone and stop survivors from escaping the dimension. Every in game day ends with a vote where players try to figure out who is a Titan.
There are lots of places to explore like villages forests rivers dead zones and even a beach at the edge with a sealed portal. Titans also roam the wild so even traveling can get scary.