You cannot see Luxor in a day. You can see the right third of it, in the right order.
Luxor holds roughly a third of the world's surviving ancient monuments. A day trip from the coast gives you about seven usable hours there after four hours of driving each way, so the only sensible plan is a ruthless one.
Do the West Bank first, while it is cool: the Valley of the Kings from opening, then Hatshepsut's temple, then the Colossi of Memnon on the way out — five minutes, no ticket, and they are directly beside the road.
Cross the Nile for lunch. Then Karnak in the mid-afternoon, when the hypostyle hall is shaded and the tour buses have thinned, and Luxor Temple last if there is time — it is the one that is genuinely better after dark, floodlit, and it stays open late.
A day trip from the coast gives you about seven usable hours there after four hours of driving each way, so the only sensible plan is a ruthless one.
What to leave out without regret: Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, Deir el-Medina and the Valley of the Queens. All are excellent and none fits. Better to see four things properly than eight things from a moving vehicle.
