hi
if you use taxis make sure you haggle and agree on a price before you get in & go. both times we went to luxor we used local travel agents to book trips to the local sights such as valley of the kings/hatshepsuts temple etc on the west bank. theres a few in the row of shops infront of the old winter palace hotel on the main corniche (rd) we used wagons carltonlit travel ( or something like that) we used them not only for local trips but also for a daytrip to cairo ( flying) & also a trip down to aswan & abu simbel (flying again) & wouldnt hesitate to use them again. for all our trips including the local ones it was just us 2 in a mini van with a driver & guide so we did what we wanted when we wanted & it was fantastic. you can get cheaper trips (although what we paid for all our trips was not very much including the flights etc) if you go with a bunch of others but we cant stand being herded around in a group so we paid a little extra. for a trip up to karnac we just got a local taxi we flagged down on the rd and agreed a price before we went ( its about a mile i think out of town) and on return had no probs finding a taxi in the huge carpark type area outside karnac. we did walk to karnac one day but it was very hot!. you wont need to get a taxi to luxor temple as its slap bang in the middle of town.
i would say as well be careful of taxi drivers picking up someone else along the way ( he'll say its his friend) the friend will get in & try to sell you something. not a big deal just a little irritating.
we also used the local little mini buses to get around you wave them down & jump in its a fixed price ( i think) and very cheap you tell them when you want to get out, great fun travelling with the lovely locals
have a great time! & dont be wary of trying local places to have a beer or a snack we met some fantastic people by doing this. i always find it sad that many people who go on the big nile cruises never wander out away from their boat except when being herded off to a bus for a tour you miss out on so much.

One tip regarding taxi's in Luxor....

If you are taking a taxi back to your hotel - get him to drop you off at the lowest star rated hotel that's close to yours (especially if you're staying in a 5 star hotel). They will try to charge you a higher price if they think you are staying in an expensive hotel

We usually ask them to drop us at the St Joseph if going back to our hotel and at the Gaddis (as was) or the Emilio if we are going into town

Love Luxor though, it's just fab

Enjoy.

CwB

Cheers guys