Katja first arrived in beautiful Ciudad Colon in August of 2001 through an internship placement at a local travel agency. She had a bit of a rough start in Costa Rica. Right on her first night, she found herself standing in a completely dark country due to power breakdown and heavy rain. While she felt a little insecure, the normal tico life had started for her. But soon she was able to get a better understanding of the country and its people and was excited to be part of the pura vida lifestyle. During her internship she met her former husband and stayed in Costa Rica until 2003 when both decided to make the move to Germany. Back in Germany, Katja started to work for a German travel agency, called travel-to-nature GmbH, where she was responsible for expanding the destination Costa Rica. But a big piece of her heart was still in Costa Rica so she decided to move back to the tropics after living in Germany for six years.

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In 2009, Katja and her former husband made the decision to move back to Costa Rica and founded Kalkonu Travel. Adopted from the language of the indigenous tribe of the Bribri, Kalkonu indicates the love towards nature. In Bribri the meaning can furthermore be described as the love towards rivers, forests, animals and plants.

Ever since then, Katja is head of the company and, together with her team, she designs trips through Costa Rica. Mainly covering the German, Swiss and Austrian market but also for costumers from Mexico, Canada and the United States of America. Since the very first day Kalkonu Travel is known for its outstanding costumer service, promptness and efficiency and exceptional travel performance.

Katja’s daughter, Kira, gives her a lot of energy every day and is the biggest source of inspiration.