"Took us two hours to get home," complained one Facebook user.
"Not impressed," wrote another. "Over three hours to get home. Hope you sort it out for the next two concerts."
Free trains and buses were put on for those with tickets, with more than 26,000 people taking the train and 6000 taking special event buses.
The concert finished at 10pm but people exiting the concert had to queue for more than an hour to board public transport to get home.
Auckland Transport spokesman Mark Hannan said crowds were "massive".
Extra buses were sent to help get people home from Penrose Train Station where there were long queues.
"This is the largest crowd ever to use rail to Mount Smart," Hannan said.
Users took to social media to vent after getting stuck in long queues.
Queue for the train after Adele lucky it was an amazing concert so it's a happy crowd
Posted by Faille Anne Currie on Thursday, 23 March 2017
Adele also performs in Auckland on Saturday and Sunday, with transport issues not expected to be as problematic with the lack of commuters on the roads.